Feds close complaint into canceled Baltimore Red Line

05.12.15 BALTIMORE, MD- From left, Brian O'Malley, Central Maryland Transportaion Alliance; Elise Bruner, Blue Water Baltimore; Steve Holt, CPHA; and Shannon Frede, Red Line Now; holding a banner supporting the Red Line in 2015. (The Daily Record/Maximilian Franz).

From left, Brian O’Malley, Central Maryland Transportaion Alliance; Elise Bruner, Blue Water Baltimore; Steve Holt, CPHA; and Shannon Frede, Red Line Now; holding a banner supporting the Red Line in 2015. (The Daily Record/Maximilian Franz).

The U.S. Department of Transportation has closed a complaint alleging that Maryland officials discriminated against African Americans when they canceled a light-rail line in Baltimore.

The Washington Post reports that a letter sent to state officials Thursday states that the agency will “administratively close the complaint without finding.”

Two complaints, consolidated into one, alleged that African Americans in Baltimore suffered “disparate impacts” when Gov. Larry Hogan canceled the Red Line, a $2.9 billion, 14-mile train line. Funds were redirected to highway, road and bridge projects in mostly white, rural areas.

Charles James Sr., director of the department’s civil rights office, says in the letter that the agency will continue a broader review of Maryland’s compliance with a federal law prohibiting racial discrimination in programs receiving federal funding.