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Why Value‐for‐Money is Still a One‐Sided Burden

It has been a long time coming, but American public sponsors finally have official guidance on completing Value-for-Money (VfM) analysis. VfM as a concept long predates the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in federal law, but the IIJA made significant changes, culminating in last month’s final VfM guidance from the Build America Bureau (BAB). […]

Express Lane Series #2: Key Planning Considerations for Agencies Developing Express Lane P3s

Priced managed lanes (PMLs) are increasingly delivered through public-private partnerships, and the commercial, planning, and long-term decisions needed to deliver them well are the subject of this three-part series. Our first paper examined the commercial decisions at the heart of every PML P3: toll policy, discount structures, and toll services agreements. We argued that good […]

After Botched Procurement, MassDOT Taking Second Pass at Service Plaza P3

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is taking another pass at a procurement to redevelop 18 service plazas on highways across the state, but is making several changes to their procurement approach and re-starting a state P3 Commission for additional oversight. The procurement, which was initiated in March, will be the state’s second attempt at […]

Potrero Bus Yard Project Approved in San Francisco

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board finally approved the project agreement legislation for the Potrero Bus Yard Modernization Project in March. The project agreement approval was quickly followed by approval by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in late March and a $742 million tax-exempt bond financing in early April. The bond issuance, […]

I‐77 South Express Lanes Gets Shortlist, Then Opposition

The I-77 South Express Lanes project passed a few important planning and procurement milestones in February. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) announced a shortlist of four bid teams for the procurement, though a final RFP is now not expected until this summer. NCDOT also selected an initial design configuration for the project. On […]

Gordie Howe Bridge Nearing Finish Line, Gets Trump Card

After literally decades of political battles during planning, and more than seven years of construction, the Gordie Howe Bridge project in Michigan is finally nearing completion. Major construction is complete, and testing and commissioning began in earnest in February. While an opening date is not yet set, it is anticipated to open to traffic very, […]

Dulles Airport Renovation Gets White House Attention

The potential P3 to renovate Dulles Airport appears to be progressing quickly, in part because it has attracted a unique political champion: President Trump himself was reportedly been taking meetings and fielding pitches regarding the project in February. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has also reportedly been directly involved in the discussions. The meetings in February […]

Metro Chooses Tunnel for Sepulveda Transit Corridor

LA Metro has finally selected a project alternative for the massive Sepulveda Transit Corridor project, and it will be a heavy rail line tunneled through the Sepulveda Pass. If the project is eventually procured as a Public-Private Partnership (P3), it will almost certainly be in the running for the largest in U.S. history. Metro’s selection […]

PWF Interview: Nossaman’s Brandon Davis on Airport P3s, LA Infra, Enabling Legislation

Los Angeles is a city of extremes, in infrastructure and everything else. With the Olympics and World Cup approaching, the city has passed unprecedented levels of transportation funding and is home to some of America’s pioneering megaproject public-private partnerships, including two at LAX.  It is also an extraordinarily challenging development environment, for infrastructure and everything […]

Shortlist Already for Penn Station Redevelopment

When the Trump Administration took over delivery of the Penn Station redevelopment project last April, it promised to move forward with a procurement quickly for the long-delayed megaproject. It appears to be doing just that. Amtrak has already shortlisted three potential master developer teams and started the RFP process. Amtrak executive Andy Byford, who is […]