Light-rail construction and its associated controversies are not limited to Virginia. Across the Potomac River, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and Maryland Dept. of Transportation have issued RFPs to four short-listed design-build teams for the $2.37-billion, 22-station Purple Line, a 16-mile P3 project that will roughly parallel the Capital Beltway in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

The short-listed teams are Maryland Purple Line Partners, composed of Vinci Concessions S.A.S., Walsh Investors LLC, InfraRed Capital Partners Ltd., Alstom Transport SA and Keolis SA; Maryland Transit Connectors, comprising John Laing Investments Ltd., Kiewit Development Co. and Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate LLC; Purple Line Transit Partners, which includes Meridiam Infrastructure Purple Line, Fluor Enterprises Inc. and Star America Fund GP LLC; and Purple Plus Alliance, composed of Macquarie Capital Group and Skanska Infrastructure Development Inc.

The selected team also will be responsible for raising as much as $900 million in private-sector funding as well as operating and maintaining the Purple Line for 35 years. The FTA already has recommended the project for a full funding grant, allotting $100 million for fiscal 2015. The state of Maryland will contribute $750 million, and the counties are set to add a total of $220 million.

Although funding appears set, the Purple Line faces potential environmental and legal challenges from residents and communities upset over the system’s route through developed areas and alongside a popular regional recreational trail. Structural issues associated with building foundations adjacent to a narrow tunnel beneath Bethesda must also be addressed.

MTA-MDOT plans to select a preferred design-build team in spring 2015 and start construction later in the year.