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A Historic Financial Close for Georgia’s SR‐400

A truly historic transportation financing was closed in Georgia in August. The SR-400 project financing sets new records no matter where you look. At $3.32 billion, it includes the largest single Private Activity Bond (PAB) issuance in U.S. history in addition to, at $3.89 billion, the largest TIFIA loan in the program’s history. At $4.7 […]

The $3.8 Billion Dollar Question for GDOT (and other DOTs)

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and its advisors have much to celebrate with the successful financial close of the SR-400 project. But the number that should get the most attention is the financing’s concession fee to Georgia’s State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA): $3,799,312,000. That $3.8 billion figure has been the subject of ample […]

I‐77 South Express Lanes RFQ Published

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has finally kicked off the procurement for the I-77 South Express Lanes project in Charlotte. The state published a Request for Qualifications in August, and is planning on collecting qualifications from interested bid teams in December. The state is planning to select a shortlist of teams in February […]

Build America Bureau Publishes Final Asset Concessions Grant NOFO

The Build America Bureau (BAB) released its second and final Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Innovative Finance and Asset Concession (IFAC) grant program in August. The program will award up to $45.98 million in technical assistance grants to public agencies considering asset concession projects or programs to enhance existing public assets. The new […]

PWF’s 3‐Step Guide to Getting More American Capital into American Transport Infrastructure

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy joined the inaugural meeting of the Department of Transportation Advisory Board earlier this summer at the White House. Overall, the meeting was extraordinarily promising for American transportation P3s. Again and again, Secretary Duffy mentioned the need to find ways to leverage private investment and create projects that attract private capital, and […]

Priorities for 2026 Surface Transportation Reauthorization

As Director of Transportation Policy for Reason Foundation, I’ve been writing this monthly column in Public Works Financing for more than 25 years. For readers who don’t know much about this think tank, you can get some perspective by perusing our website (https://reason.org). We are a nonprofit public policy organization, with a journalism division and […]

UK Water: Cunliffe Report is In, and Ofwat is Out

The United Kingdom’s water industry is undergoing a tumultuous and critical reorganization, and it is far from over. The end results will reverberate well beyond the UK’s privatized water sector, and inform the broader debate over the role of the state and private sector in providing key public goods and services. Thames Water, the country’s […]

Rent-seeking in Megaprojects: The Case of Turkey’s Public-Private Partnerships for Roads

Original article by Ali Osman Solak This article explores how governance quality impacts the success of public-private partnerships (PPPs), focusing specifically on Turkey’s road infrastructure projects. Theoretically, well-structured PPPs offer benefits such as optimized risk allocation and increased efficiency. However, these outcomes depend heavily on robust governance frameworks that ensure transparency, accountability, and strong institutional […]

California HSR Responds to Feds, But Will Investors Bridge the Gap?

In a series of letters that will likely soon be exhibits in a federal lawsuit, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has formally responded to the Trump Administration’s June preliminary decision to terminate the project’s federal grant agreements. Much is at stake – specifically the roughly $4 billion in federal grants that the Administration is […]

Inside California’s RFEI for High‐Speed Rail Investors

California’s Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) for private investors in various components of the high-speed rail project requests responses, up to 25 pages in length, by 28 July, though the Authority may accept responses afterwards. Much of the RFEI notes the project’s successes to date and its staying power. No surprises here. The state […]