Maryland’s Purple Line has suffered numerous delays and significant cost overruns, and a mezzanine is the latest part of the project to increase in cost.
The planned mezzanine connecting the D.C. Metro ‘s Bethesda station and the Maryland Department of Transportation Purple Line’s stop in Bethesda was estimated originally at $2.4 million, but years later, a contract announced for the project was for $52 million, according to a report from the Washington Post.
The planned second entrance to the D.C. Metro’s Bethesda station will include six elevators and a new mezzanine at the Red Line. It is being funded by Montgomery County but was designed by MDOT.
The long-awaited project connecting parts of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in the Old Line State is running five years behind schedule and more than $4 billion over its original $5.6 billion budget.
The Purple Line began construction in 2017 and was planned to be completed by 2022, but it is now projected to open in late 2027. The service will connect Bethesda to New Carrollton, with 21 stations, including stations connecting the transit system to the D.C. Metro’s Red Line at Bethesda and Silver Spring, Green Line at College Park, and Orange Line at New Carrollton. The project is separate from the D.C. Metro, which is run by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.