Major construction on the Purple Line will now begin in earnest in August.

While utility work and minor preparations will be going on over the summer, the managers of the public-private partnership behind the 16-mile light rail line say the most heavy duty work that drivers would notice won’t start until late summer.

The Purple Line is now slated to open in October of 2026, and the head Maryland Transit Solutions, the new construction joint venture, said recently that he is confident that they will meet that deadline, noting that penalties exceed $200,000 every day past it.

Contractors will first look to finish the operations and maintenance facility located on Veterans Highway not far from the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

Work on the University of Maryland campus was delayed after contractors realized that utility lines are still being relocated.

“We didn’t want to make a mistake and open up the campus and then not be able to put it back in the condition that the college requires for students coming back in August,” project manager Terry Gohde told the Washington Post.

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