County Executive Ike Leggett says it could be tough to get funding for the Purple Line:
Meanwhile, county residents have only until the end of the week to apply to be on the County's Purple Line Advisory Committee.“There’s only so much money out there,” County Executive Ike Leggett said Monday. “So to say that we’ll automatically get funds for the Purple Line ... would be disingenuous.”
The question of how to fund the multibillion-dollar Purple Line is taking on greater significance as numerous studies move forward examining the precise route of a potential Metro line connecting Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
The ICC was conceived decades ago and, like the Purple Line, is hoped to be a congestion reliever for the Capital Beltway. Once completed, the ICC will be an 18-mile toll road linking Interstate 270 in Gaithersburg with I-95 in Laurel.
Leggett told The Examiner that he considers both pursuits critical, as they are part of Montgomery’s Master Plan for development.
Yet paying for both is not as simple as seeing the merits in a road and rail project. At this point, each project is set on a very different time track.
ICC construction began in October on the first of the roadway’s five phases. But potential state funding for the Purple Line was delayed by a year when Gov. Martin O’Malley earlier this year announced plans to do a more accurate ridership study. Leggett and members of the transportation-supporting group Action Committee for Transit said the extra time could ultimately help secure funding.
Still, selling state and federal leaders on expensive pursuits for one area is no easy feat.
“There’s that question of, ‘Are we going to do two thing for Prince George’s and Montgomery?’ ” said John Carroll, who noted that his Action Committee for Transit will continue to push for progress on the Purple Line.
