On Tuesday, March 4th federal officials recommended the Maryland Transit Administration’s Purple Line Public-Private Partnership Project ("Purple Line") to receive $100 million in federal construction money as part of the Obama Administration’s 2015 fiscal year budget. The Federal Transit Administration recommended the Purple Line as one of seven large transit projects in the nation to receive full funding grant agreements, which allow for a longer-term payment commitment by the federal government. The other six projects are the Westside Subway Expansion – Section 1 (Los Angeles), Sunrail Phase II South (Orlando), Green Line Extension (Cambridge to Medford, MA), Red Line (Baltimore), Columbia River Crossing Project (Portland) and TEX Rail (Fort Worth).

The Purple Line, which is estimated at $2.2 billion in construction costs, is seeking a total of $900 million in federal funding.  Representative Donna Edwards (D-MD), whose district is located along the proposed line in Prince George’s County commented on the announcement, “This really keeps the Purple Line on the trajectory we need.” Maryland transit officials hope to begin construction on the 16-mile light-rail transit line in 2015, with services beginning in 2020.