Courtesy of the Maryland Transit Administration.

Nine months after Gov. Larry Hogan approved the Purple Line, The Maryland Department of Transportation has selected a firm to build and operate the 16.2-mile light rail line.

“With great construction know-how, superior transit expertise and continued low interest rates, Purple Line Transit Partners is positioned to deliver a tremendous value to Maryland taxpayers,” Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn said in a release.

Hogan gave the go-ahead for the Purple Line last June, but with a few caveats. His full approval was contingent upon making sure the state could get the line running for less money. That meant receiving additional funding from local and federal governments as well as design changes.

The state will pay nearly $160 million in construction costs, down from the original $168 million limit that Hogan had previously set, the governor said in a release. Over the course of six years of construction and thirty years of operation, the total cost will come to about $3.3 billion.

Purple Line Transit Partners can get to work building the line late this year. But first, the Board of Public Works must give a final approval in April leading to a financial close in June. Federal and state transportation departments are expected to draw up a final grant agreement in July.

The Purple Line, which runs from New Carrollton to Bethesda, is expected to open for service in the spring of 2022. Although it isn’t a part of the Metrorail system, it will have connections to the Red, Green, and Orange lines among its 21 stops.