The contractor building Maryland’s Purple Line said it anticipates needing an additional five months and $187.7 million to build a required “crash wall” along the light-rail tracks, reports The Washington Post.
The contractor, a consortium of companies called Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP), said in an April 7 letter to the Maryland Transit Administration that CSX Transportation, Jacksonville, Florida, is requiring that a different kind of crash wall be built along the Purple Line tracks from the one the contract anticipated.
Such a request would increase the project’s potential delays to 506 days, or nearly 17 months, when added to other problems the contractor has cited. It also would bring the potential cost overruns on the $2 billion construction contract to $526 million — more than 25 percent over budget.
The first major delays stemmed from an unsuccessful lawsuit against the project, which stalled the start of construction. The state’s trouble in acquiring rights of way also added time and cost, the contractor said. The lawsuit added 266 days and about $200 million, while the right-of-way delays added 79 days and $138.2 million, the contractor has said in financial filings.
PLTP also told the state in a March 11 letter that it might need to file a “force majeure” claim because of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Construction on the 16-mile line has continued amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, this month, some workers were asked to self-quarantine for 14 days after a Washington Gas inspector on the project tested positive for the novel coronavirus.