Name: Analysis | Gov. Larry Hogan’s legacy is threatened by Purple Line ‘fiasco’ and concerns about toll lanes project
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Analysis | Gov. Larry Hogan’s legacy is threatened by Purple Line ‘fiasco’ and concerns about toll lanes project

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This article was published more than&nbsp;2 years agoCommentGift ShareMaryland Gov. Larry Hogan differs from President Trump about as much as possible for a Republican, but they share one characteristic: Both won their offices in part by selling themselves as experienced business executives who would run government efficiently and cheaply.Hogan has applied that approach to his two biggest transportation projects, the light-rail Purple Line and a plan to add toll lanes to the Capital Beltway, Interstate 270 and the American Legion Bridge. He brought in private companies to share responsibility with the state for the enterprises, saying they would complete the work more efficiently than the government and save taxpayers money.It isn’t working out that way, and the difficulties threaten to tarnish Hogan’s legacy as he approaches the midpoint of his second and final term as governor. (Maryland governors are limited to two terms.)AdvertisementThe construction contractor for the Purple Line quit mid-project in a dispute with the state over a reported $800&nbsp;million in unpaid cost overruns. The Maryland Transit Administration has taken over hundreds of subcontracts to continue the work while the state negotiates with the consortium of companies managing the project over whether the larger $5.6&nbsp;billion partnership can be salvaged.The Purple Line problems raise fresh questions about whether the much larger toll lanes project will fare any better.The two projects had promised to be perhaps the most visible, long-lasting testaments to Hogan’s tenure.“With the Purple Line, we have basically a fiasco on our hands,” said Melissa Deckman, chair of the political science department at Washington College in Chestertown, Md. “It calls into question in some way his legacy, his promotion of having the private sector solve big public problems.”AdvertisementThe Purple Line project is structured as a public-private partnership (P3). The state is also pursuing a P3 for the toll lanes project. In such deals, private companies help finance and construct the projects, then receive a return over the long-term either from state payments or money earned while managing the enterprises.The theory is that taxpayers gain more from the private investment and promised efficiency than they lose by letting the companies reap a profit.The strategy has backfired with the Purple Line, a 16-mile light-rail line running from New Carrollton in Prince George’s County to Bethesda in Montgomery County. The construction contractor has quit and the consortium managing the project, Purple Line Transit Partners, is in a legal battle with the state over extra costs caused by more than 2½ years of delays.AdvertisementHogan has promised to complete the project. The state has said it will take four to six months to determine how to do so. Kevin Quinn, head of the Maryland Transit Administration, that the state is exploring managing some of the work in the short term and then seeking a construction contractor or another public-private partnership.Some construction activities are expected to resume this week under state management.But the dispute almost certainly guarantees that the project will fall further behind schedule. The original date to begin passenger service in 2022 has already been pushed back to 2024. It’s also unclear how much the various options would cost or how the state would pay for them at a time when the coronavirus pandemic is ravaging the state budget.Critics say the experience highlights the risk in some P3s that private companies get too much power.Advertisement“The private entity can essentially hold the government and taxpayers hostage to ask for more money,” said Jeremy Mohler, communications director for In the Public Interest, a think tank.Meanwhile, concerns have arisen about Hogan’s ambitious plan to add four toll lanes — two in each direction — to I-270 and the Maryland portion of the Beltway and build a new, wider American Legion Bridge. Tolls would vary according to congestion, and the existing lanes would remain free.Hogan famously promised that using a public-private partnership would mean the project, with an estimated total price of up to $11&nbsp;billion, would not cost taxpayers any money. But a draft state study in July that the plan could require a government subsidy of up to $1&nbsp;billion, depending on how toll revenue compares with construction and financing costs.AdvertisementThe plan also could add another $1&nbsp;billion to suburban Maryland residents’ to pay to move large water and sewer pipes to accommodate construction.Critics say rush-hour tolls will be costly and the reduction in congestion minimal. They also contend that there may be less need to build new highways now that people have seen the advantages of telecommuting during the pandemic.“Events of the last six months have obliterated what was already a feeble case for the managed lanes project,” said Montgomery County Council member Tom Hucker (D-District&nbsp;5).The Hogan administration and its defenders acknowledged that the Purple Line has suffered a setback but said other objections are overblown.Transportation Secretary Gregory Slater said that because the P3 for the toll lanes project is structured differently from that of the Purple Line, the state is unlikely to have the same problems in a dispute with the private partner.Advertisement“The risk in the toll lanes project . . . is more on the back end, with the private sector,” Slater said. “The risk on the Purple Line is really on the front end,” during the construction phase, and “we’re working through that,” he said.Slater also said that under current market conditions, the toll lanes project would not cost taxpayers any money, as Hogan promised. He said it was too early to say whether water bills would rise.Hogan spokesman Mike Ricci said both projects would benefit his boss in the long term.“The governor’s legacy here will be his willingness to go big and think beyond his term, and set up the region for growth,” Ricci said.Even if both projects collapsed entirely, which seems unlikely, Hogan could point to other accomplishments in what has generally been a politically successful governorship.AdvertisementHe was the state’s first Republican governor in 64 years to win reelection and has consistently had one of the highest favorability ratings among the nation’s state chief executives. He has blocked tax increases — his signature issue — and acted early to stem the coronavirus pandemic.Most important in blue Maryland, Hogan has kept Trump and his divisive style at arm’s length.“He crafted an identity completely distinct from Donald Trump,” St. Mary’s College political scientist Todd Eberly said.But Eberly added that unless the two transportation projects turn out well, they will blemish Hogan’s record.“If things go off the rail, or if taxpayers are worried about having their money misspent, it really undermines [his] approach to infrastructure,” Eberly said. “If bringing in the private sector doesn’t make it more effective, or any less costly than government doing it, then it’s just as expensive and we’ve lost [public] oversight.”CommentsGift ArticleTOP STORIESThe DMV GuideWhether you’re a lifelong resident of D.C. or you just moved here, we’ve got you covered.Try a different topic or to save your preferences

This article was published more than&nbsp;2 years agoCommentGift ShareMaryland Gov. Larry Hogan differs from President Trump about as much as possible for a Republican, but they share one characteristic: Both won their offices in part by selling themselves as experienced business executives who would run government efficiently and cheaply.Hogan has applied that approach to his two biggest transportation projects, the light-rail Purple Line and a plan to add toll lanes to the Capital Beltway, Interstate 270 and the American Legion Bridge. He brought in private companies to share...

Analysis | Gov. Larry Hogan’s legacy is threatened by Purple Line ‘fiasco’ and concerns about toll lanes project

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