Even as Metro sorts through its problems and a lawsuit threatens construction of the Purple Line, one possible obstacle that transit advocates may not have to worry about is President-elect Donald Trump.
The Republican made it clear in his speech after Tuesday’s election that he wants to pursue infrastructure improvements throughout the country as a way to create jobs. However, he was a little less clear on whether that included rail projects, such as the 16.2 mile light-rail Purple Line that will stretch from Bethesda to Prince George’s County and is scheduled to start construction by the end of the year.
“We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals,” Trump said in his victory speech. “We’re going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none. And we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it.”
During his campaign, Trump pledged to spend nearly $1 trillion on infrastructure improvements.
These comments have left officials at the Maryland Department of Transportation reasonably confident that Trump won’t try to rescind the $900 million in federal funds allocated to help pay for the $2.4 billion light-rail project.
Erin Henson, spokeswoman for the state’s transportation department, said Wednesday the department does not believe Trump’s election will change anything because the federal funds have already been allocated for the project.
Greg Sanders, vice president of Purple Line Now!, an advocacy group for the project, said Thursday his first instinct is that Trump’s election will not negatively impact the project. He said the president-elect, a real estate developer, likely understands the importance of the role transit plays in urban development.
“I don’t see him suddenly promoting mass transit across the country,” Sanders said. “However, building infrastructure and creating jobs means moving forward with the existing projects already in the pipeline.”
Sanders said getting the federal government to support new transportation projects is a time-consuming process that can take years, so if Trump wants to begin building soon, he should start with projects that have already been designed and planned.
“Obviously we don’t know a lot now,” Sanders said. “I think the thing to do is watch his choices for cabinet secretaries and see what signals he sends that way.”
The state approved a $5.6 billon, 36-year agreement with Purple Line Transit Partners, a team of finance and construction companies, earlier this year to build, operate and maintain the transit project. A groundbreaking is scheduled to take place later this year, although it’s unclear whether that will still happen as state officials wait for a judge’s opinion in an ongoing federal lawsuit.
Two Chevy Chase residents and the trail advocacy group Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail are pursuing the lawsuit against the Federal Transit Administration and Maryland Transit Administration, citing the project’s expected negative impact on the environment. In August, federal District Court Judge Richard Leon agreed with one of the plaintiffs’ arguments that Metro’s problems have led to questions about ridership forecasts for the Purple Line. Leon revoked the federal government’s approval of the project and ordered the federal transit agency to conduct a new environmental assessment for the project. The judge’s decision led to the state delaying a scheduled August meeting with federal officials to secure the full $900 million in funding to build the light rail, as the judge’s order made the project temporarily ineligible for federal aid.
Since the order, federal, state and county government officials have written to the judge asking him to reconsider his decision. The judge has not ruled on those motions, the last of which was submitted Sept. 20.
Although Leon’s order has stopped significant construction activities from occurring, crews are continuing to take soil borings and conduct engineering and design work for the project, according to Maryland Transit Administration officials.
