The Maryland Department of Transportation has awarded $400,000 in new grants to 38 small businesses operating along the Purple Line alignment, extending a support program that has now distributed $3 million since the start of 2025.

The awards come through the Small Business Grant Program, which the Maryland Transit Administration's parent agency created to offset the operational disruption construction has caused for businesses along the corridor. Since January 2025, the program has issued 287 grants. Applications for the next funding round remain open through Nov. 7.

What is at stake for businesses along the corridor?

The Purple Line is a 16-mile light rail project with 21 stations running east-west from New Carrollton in Prince George's County to Bethesda in Montgomery County. Businesses along the alignment have faced years of sustained construction activity, and the grant program is MDOT's mechanism for keeping them afloat until revenue service begins.

The $400,000 announced in this round brings per-business support in the current tranche to roughly $10,500 on average, though MDOT did not break down individual award sizes.

For merchants, the payoff is proximity: once trains run, the line will link their storefronts directly into the Washington-region transit network.

Where does the project stand?

MDOT reports construction is 92% complete. Passenger service is scheduled to begin at the end of next year.

The line will connect to Metrorail's Red, Green, Silver and Orange Lines at four interchanges: Bethesda, Silver Spring, College Park and New Carloston's New Carrollton station in Prince George's County. It will also tie into MARC commuter rail, Amtrak and local bus services at points along the route.

Those connections position the Purple Line as a cross-county link that bypasses downtown Washington entirely — a service pattern Maryland planners have pursued for decades.

How large is the total support effort?

The grant totals to date:

• 287 grants awarded since the start of 2025
• $3 million distributed through the program to date
• $400,000 in the newly announced round
• 38 businesses receiving funding in the latest tranche

The Nov. 7 application deadline gives affected businesses roughly a month to seek compensation before the next round closes.

What happens next?

With construction 92% complete and an opening targeted for the end of next year, the pressure on MDOT shifts from earthmoving to systems testing, staffing and commissioning. For the businesses along the alignment, the grant program remains the bridge between construction-era disruption and the ridership the 21-station line is designed to deliver.