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Trouble in Toll Land

Despite (or perhaps because of) the ongoing increase in tolled U.S. lane-miles, tolling is under new political attacks in 2024. Here are four disturbing developments during the first half of 2024: – After Oregon DOT had gained approval from FHWA to implement variable tolls on a stretch of I-5 in Portland, Gov. Tina Kotek abruptly […]

Supreme Court to Hear Uinta Basin Rail P3 Case

Everything will depend on the ruling, of course, but a freight rail public-private partnership in Utah could lead to significant reforms of the federal permitting process for large infrastructure projects. In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the petition of the Uinta Basin Rail Public-Private Partnership (P3), which is currently under an injunction from […]

Alabama Buys Bridge, Still Building One Next Door

After years of back and forth, a temporary injunction, and a reversal by the state Supreme Court, Alabama’s Beach Express bridge is now owned by the state, and toll-free. The state Department of Transportation began deconstructing the gantries and other infrastructure in mid-June. In May, the state purchased the bridge from the Baldwin County Bridge […]

On Reforming Environmental Litigation: A New Report from the Reason Foundation

In recent years, it seems that the United States has slowly awakened to the fact that it has a building problem. Namely, that we have a lot of trouble doing so. Infrastructure development in the United States has many challenges, but one of them is certainly the prevalence of litigation on major public works. In […]

JFK New Terminal One Completes Second PABs Refinancing

The JFK New Terminal One project completed a $2.55 billion Private Activity Bond (PAB) issuance at the end of June. The new issuance comes just six months after a $2 billion PABs issuance, which the project team completed in December.

The Governance of Affordable Housing Through Public-Private Partnerships: Critical Entanglements

Original Study by Patricia Canelas & Sonia Alves Introduction This paper aims to contribute to the debates about whether and how partnerships can help deliver social infrastructure, especially affordable housing.  Social infrastructure projects such as schools and health facilities tend to be smaller-scale projects compared to economic infrastructure such as transport and water infrastructure projects.  […]

Biden CEQ Finalizes New NEPA Rule, and States Sue

Uncertainty (and lawfare) over federal permitting for large public works is likely to continue in the coming months, as the Biden Administration and a coalition of mostly red states battle it out in court over a recent rulemaking. At the end of April, Biden Administration’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) finalized a major overhaul of […]

Atlanta Express Lanes on the Move: I‐285 Board Vote, SR400 Proposals In

Georgia’s plans to develop express lanes along the top half of the Atlanta perimeter and along SR400 north of the city took significant steps forward in May. First, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) accepted proposals from two bid teams for the SR400 project, which is the first of three massive express lane procurements that […]

I‐4 Ultimate Conflict of Interest Lawsuit Gets Ruling

The I-4 Ultimate project has been open since Spring 2022. Now, several years later, litigation between the project’s design-build joint venture partners may finally be coming to a resolution. In May, a federal district court in Orlando ruled in favor of Skanska and Granite Construction, two members of the joint venture, and ordered the third […]

It’s Rush Hour for Lawsuits Over New York’s Congestion Pricing

If congestion pricing is going to work anywhere in the United States, it will probably be in lower Manhattan. At the end of June, New York’s long awaited, oft abandoned congestion pricing program is finally set to begin. That is, if there isn’t an injunction first. New York’s congestion pricing program is currently at the […]