Infra Insight Blog

On May 1, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) will hold an industry forum to present initial concepts for several multimodal P3 projects that are being considered for the Sepulveda Pass Corridor in Los Angeles County.  The forum will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Ticket Room at Los Angeles Union Station.  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, and Art Leahy, Metro's CEO, are expected to address the forum attendees.

The projects under consideration include a high-capacity rail system and a tolled ...

Nossaman would like to congratulate the California Department of Transportation and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority for the Presidio Parkway Project's recognition as the "Best Real Estate Deal of the Year" in the category of Infrastructure/Public-Private Partnership by the San Francisco Business Times.  Winners were announced at the publication's annual awards dinner in San Francisco on March 20, 2013.

This recognition is the latest in a number of industry awards honoring the Presidio Parkway Project, which is the first transportation project to be procured ...

As the 2013 award season heats up for 2012 successes around the world, the juries are increasingly finding the US market hard to ignore. Infrastructure Journal and PPP Bulletin International, the two London-based media organizations that annually recognize top projects and industry organizations worldwide, have each announced their finalists for this year's best transportation transactions and firms. Focusing on public-private partnership projects as opposed to those mega-projects which are the subject of major design-build contracts, these organizations ...

This year, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) will be holding its 25th Annual Public-Private Partnership conference on July 24-26 in Washington, D.C.  To commemorate the silver anniversary of the conference, ARTBA has announced that a special cocktail reception and gala dinner will be held at the Smithsonian Museum of American History on the evening of July 25. 

Attendees will have exclusive access to the ARTBA-sponsored America on the Move exhibition currently on display at the museum.  The exhibition explores the role of transportation in American ...

On March 7, Project Finance Magazine held its annual Project Finance Americas Deals of the Year awards dinner in New York City.  The awards – which started 14 years ago – are for innovation, deal repeatability, best practice, problem solving, value for money and speed of delivery in the financing of infrastructure projects.  Two public-private partnership projects – one on the East coast and one on the West coast – received honors at this year’s dinner.     

The award for 2012 North America Toll Road Deal of the Year was given to the Midtown Tunnel project located in the Hampton Roads ...

As part of its effort to meet MAP-21’s legislative requirement to develop standard public-private partnership transaction model contracts for the most popular types of public-private partnerships, the Federal Highway Administration held a listening session with representatives from the transportation industry at the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington D.C. on January 16.  Representatives from state departments of transportation, general contractors, trade associations, legal advisors and others were in attendance, and solicited to provide FHWA with the ...

A key element of a successful P3 program is an effective and comprehensive public outreach strategy.  Demonstrating why Virginia remains a leader in closing P3 transportation deals, the Virginia Office of Transportation Public-Private Partnerships (OTP3) recently prepared a variety of fact sheets, presentations and FAQs focusing on different aspects of P3s in Virginia.  The materials can be found at the OTP3 website.

These materials were prepared in cooperation with the Public Private Transportation Act Working Group.  This group was established in June 2012 to solicit ideas and ...

The 20th annual conference of The Canadian Council of Public-Private Partnerships (CCPPP) was held in Toronto on November 26-27, 2012.  Drawing industry leaders from within and outside of Canada, the conference this year reflected the maturity of the Canadian market and the interest of P3 players looking beyond its borders for future opportunities, particularly participating in the growing U.S. P3 market. 

One of the keynote speakers was Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, who championed the proposed $3.5 billion Detroit-Windsor bridge and expressed appreciation for Canada’s ...

On November 29, 2012, financial closing was achieved on a 30 year concession relating to the water and wastewater facilities of the City of Rialto, California.  The agreement, which had been executed in March 2012, is among Rialto Water Services, LLC, the single purpose vehicle set up by Table Rock Capital as the project sponsor, the City of Rialto and the Rialto Utility Authority.  

The approximately $175 million transaction is being bond financed through a private placement and an approximately $26 million equity contribution.  The concession agreement provides for approximately ...

On October 10 through 12, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) held their 24th Annual Public-Private Partnerships in Transportation Conference in Washington, DC.  Each year during this conference, the ARTBA P3 Division honors two individuals, one public sector and one private sector, for their exemplary contributions to the transportation industry. 

This year we are proud to announce that Nossaman's Geoff Yarema was named "P3 Private Sector Entrepreneur of the Year."  Geoff is the first two-time recipient of this award, having received the award in ...

On October 11, Nick Nicholson, Deputy Director and Chief Engineer of the District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT) Infrastructure Project Management Administration, participated in a panel session at the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) Annual Public-Private Partnerships in Transportation Conference in Washington, D.C.  Mr. Nicholson told conference attendees that DDOT is actively looking at public-private partnerships to deliver several projects in the District of Columbia.  Although the District does not have dedicated P3 ...

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently issued guidance for implementing various aspects of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), including:  Infrastructure; Environment, Planning and Realty; Safety; Operations; and Innovative Program Delivery.  The guidance became effective October 1, 2012.

The interim guidance on Innovative Program Delivery includes provisions for implementing the new public-private partnership (P3) assessment requirement for Major Project Finance Plans under MAP-21.  The new P3 assessment requirement is, in our ...

Hot on the heels of the financial close of the Presidio Parkway, the first California transportation public-private partnership (P3) availability payment deal and only the fourth in the United States, Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Innovative Program Delivery has issued guidance regarding the eligibility of periodic availability payments for reimbursement from federal aid funds.  Federal-Aid Funding and Availability Payments

Recognizing that availability payment concessions can offer the benefits of enhanced performance and project cost savings ...

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), in cooperation with the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, reached financial close on the Presidio Parkway Project public-private partnership (P3).  The $1.1 billion deal is the first transportation P3 in California under the recently enacted P3 statute, Streets and Highways Code section 143, and only the third highway project developed through an availability payment structure. 

Caltrans entered into an agreement with Golden Link Concessionaire, LLC, a consortium led by Hochtief PPP Solutions North ...

On July 9, LA Metro is hosting an Industry Outreach Workshop to accelerate PPP delivery of six highway improvement projects in Los Angeles County known as the Highway Goods Movement Package.  The workshop is being held at Metro’s Gateway Building headquarters where there will be a 2-hour presentation in the morning detailing the six projects, followed by one-on-one meetings with Metro representatives. 

You can RSVP to Metro’s Public-Private Partnership Program Manager Kathleen Sanchez at SanchezK@metro.net.  Here are the details:

Metro’s Gateway Building

One Gateway ...

On March 30, 2012, the Arizona Department of Transportation issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) soliciting statements of qualifications from prospective private and/or public entities for development and implementation of a public-private partnership (P3) for ADOT facilities on a new site to replace the current ADOT and MVD facilities located in Flagstaff, Arizona. The RFQ represents the first P3 solicitation issued by ADOT through its Office of P3 Initiatives.

The objective of the project is to relocate ADOT from its current location on Milton Road to new facilities in ...

On Feb. 15, 2012, the North Carolina Department of Transportation advertised a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the I-77 HOT Lanes Project located in the Charlotte-Mecklunberg area.  The RFQ seeks interested teams to submit their Statement of Qualifications to develop, design, build, finance, operate, and maintain HOT lanes along the I-77 corridor through a public-private partnership.  The project will involve the conversion of existing HOV lanes to HOT lanes, and the extension of HOT lanes along the I-77 corridor.

An industry forum is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2012 in Charlotte ...

On November 16, challenges to the legality of the Presidio Parkway public-private partnership (P3) contract ended with a one sentence order from the California Supreme Court: The petition for review is denied.  Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG), the union representing Caltrans engineers, had asked the Supreme Court to review the Aug. 8, 2011, decision of the California Court of Appeal in San Francisco (First District), which unanimously held that Phase 2 of the Presidio Parkway project can move forward as a P3.  As a result, the California Department of ...

Yesterday the clock struck 4 p.m. in Anchorage, Alaska, the deadline for the P3 industry to submit statements of qualifications for the Knik Arm Crossing project. The public sponsor, Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority (KABATA), found on its desk statements from six experienced teams. This level of interest in a U.S. P3 project has few parallels.  

Here are the six teams:

Knik Bridge Partners

CSEC Holding Company, Inc.

China State Construction International Holdings, Ltd

Bechtel Infrastructure Corporation

CCA Civil, Inc.

Finley Civil ...

On Sept. 19, 2011, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) sent a press release announcing that GDOT issued the final Request for Proposal (RFP) for the West by Northwest Project.  The RFP was provided to three short-listed proposers, comprised of several national and international developers and contractors.  Brandon Beach, P3 Committee Chair of the State Transportation Board, viewed the issuance of the RFP as further evidence that GDOT’s P3 program is vibrant and continuing to make huge strides in coordinating these mega-projects with our partner agencies.

Responses ...

We are pleased to report that AB 294--the bill that was the subject of our blog yesterday--is no longer in play.

A last-minute amendment to California Assembly Bill 294, if passed, would wreak havoc on Caltrans and local agency plans to use design-build for state highway projects (Public Contract Code section 6800 et seq.) and to enter into public-private partnerships (P3s) for highway projects (Streets and Highways Code section 143).

The language added to the bill would preclude local agencies from hiring consultants to work on the projects, stating that all work must be done through Caltrans employees or consultants under contract with Caltrans.  Project consultants are often hired well ...

On August 8, 2011, the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco published a decision holding that Phase 2 of the Presidio Parkway project can move forward as a public-private partnership (P3).  The unanimous opinion approved of and affirmed the February decision by Judge Wynne Carvill of the Alameda County Superior Court to the same effect, allowing the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) to proceed with Phase II as a P3. The decision was issued less than five months after the appeal had been taken ...

If you want to know what a mature, effective federal and state P3 policy can look like, we need not look very far beyond our U.S. borders.  Two Canadian provinces, Ontario and British Columbia, provide us a road map for building successful, sustainable P3 programs and policies.

At the International Bridge Conference in Pittsburgh last month, panelists for a workshop on P3s, including Len Kozachuk with Infrastructure Ontario (IO), described the essential features of this agency and its alternative financing and procurement program.  The contrast with how our federal and state policy ...

The just ended InfraAmericas P3 conference in New York City brought together virtually every active participant, public and private, in the U.S. transportation P3 industry.  A number of public agencies showcased their plans and projects, and there was a palpable sense that opportunities to bring U.S. projects forward are growing significantly.

Perhaps the project producing the most buzz at the conference is the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority’s Knik Arm Crossing project in Alaska.  KABATA came to the conference loaded for bear (a not infrequent pastime in this bountiful ...

On February 17, 2011, Judge Wynne Carvill of the Alameda County Superior Court filed a 38 page opinion denying the efforts of Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG), the union that represents Caltrans engineers, to stop Phase 2 of the Presidio Parkway project in San Francisco.  PECG sued the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)  and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA), as well as the California Transportation Commission and officials of each of these agencies, seeking a halt to Phase 2, which had been awarded as a public private ...

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) has released the report "Public-Private Partnerships for Transportation: A Toolkit for Legislators."  The text of the report is short and concise (32 pages, with multiple appendices), yet provides a thorough overview of the the pros and cons of PPPs.  It also sets forth nine principles for consideration by legislators in deciding if and how to pursue public-private partnerships.  

The report is very well sourced, with examples of how projects and jurisdictions addressed matters that affected their programs and projects.  The ...

AASHTO, through its Center for Excellence in Project Finance, has released its final report on strategies for funding and financing surface transportation for the next decade. The report, Funding and Financing Solutions for Surface Transportation in the Coming Decade,is available for download via AASHTO’s website at the following address:

http://www.transportation-finance.org/pdf/featured_documents/sep_30_report_final_2011_02_02.pdf

In September 2010, AASHTO convened a forum of members of Congress, representatives of state and local governments, and ...

The California Department of Transportation started off the New Year with a significant step in its public-private partnership program.  After an Alameda County Superior Court judge dissolved a temporary restraining order and denied a preliminary injunction sought by Professional Engineers in California Government, the California Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, awarded the contract for the Presidio Parkway Project to Golden Link Concessionaire, LLC, a consortium led by Hochtief PPP Solutions North ...

Continuing a string of awards recognizing its groundbreaking financial structure, The Bond Buyer named the Port of Miami Tunnel Project the 2010 Deal of the Year in the nontraditional financing category.  The ninth annual black tie event, held in New York City on Dec. 9, recognized some of the country’s most innovative municipal bond issuers for transactions in a range of sectors, including transportation, schools, water and sewer systems, wind, and public pensions.  The publication considered nearly 80 deals that closed between Oct. 1, 2009, and Sept. 30, 2010.

The $1 billion Port ...

A short six months after shortlisting proposers, the California Department of Transportation and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority selected Golden Link Partners, a consortium led by Hochtief PPP Solutions North America and Meridiam Infrastructure North America, as the Preferred Proposer for Presidio Parkway Project.  Golden Link Partners submitted an annual availability payment of $28,549,189, well within the $35 million limit authorized by the California Transportation Commission in April 2010.  This significant event in the procurement follows closely ...

Last week the National Governors Association strongly urged key Senators to stand with them against new restrictions on public private partnerships and tolling in the House T&I Committee’s draft surface transportation bill. In their letter to chairs and ranking members of the Senate Environment and Public Works, Finance, and Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, the NGA highlighted the efforts of state and local governments to pursue innovative financing options to complement traditional sources, and asked the Senate to omit the proposals from the Senate’s ...

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)'s commitment to public-private partnerships can be seen in the new opening for a Public Private Transportation Act (PPTA) Program officer. This position is part of the new Administration's efforts to re-invigorate the PPTA program by developing a comprehensive, programmatic approach to its public-private partnerships procurement process.

As described in the full job description, this position will focus on providing "multi-modal solutions to Virginia's transportation challenges by providing strategic leadership for ...

Producing ground breaking advancements in transportation infrastructure is not without its challenges, highlighting the importance of celebrating each success. Today our client, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the organization’s Executive Director, Amadeo Saenz, are being recognized for their paradigm shifting approach to building roads.

The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) is holding their 22nd Annual Public Private Partnerships in Transportation Conference in the nation’s capital. In what is being called a sweep ...

Following extensive industry review of the draft Request for Proposals, on Friday, July 9, 2010, the California Department of Transportation, in coordination with the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, issued the final Request for Proposals for the Presidio Parkway Project. According to the latest procurement schedule in the Request for Proposals, technical proposals are due on September 10, 2010, and financial proposals are due on September 24, 2010.

The Presidio Parkway Project is the first public-private partnership procurement under California's new ...

On June 22, 2010 the Texas Department of Transportation’s I-635 project became the first U.S. highway public-private partnership (P3) to achieve financial close in 2010. LBJ Infrastructure Group - a Cintra-led consortium - will build, finance, maintain and operate a 17-mile corridor which includes managed lanes in the congested Dallas-Fort Worth area. This project along with the North Tarrant Express (NTE), one of three U.S. transportation P3s to close in 2009, are nationally significant for advancing the use of managed lanes to address congestion.

The projects are notable ...

On June 1, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) announced the shortlist of qualified proposers for the West by Northwest Project.  The three shortlisted teams are eligible to receive the Request for Proposals for the project, which is expected to be issued in the fall. The selected teams are as follows:

The West by Northwest Development Partners

• Equity: VINCI Concessions and OHL Concesiones.
• Lead Contractors: Archer Western Contractors, OHL USA and the Hubbard Construction Company.
• Lead Engineering Firm: Parsons Transportation Group.
• Lead Operations and ...

We are pleased to include here the comments of colleague, Allan Ickowitz, Co-Chair of Nossaman's Financial Services and Bankruptcy Practice Group.

Public agency project owners can breathe a sigh of relief over a recent bankruptcy court decision in the Las Vegas monorail case. They will not be held liable for the debts of non profit corporations established to build public infrastructure simply because the corporation was formed on behalf of a public agency.

When the Las Vegas Monorail Company filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on January 13, 2010, the Ambac Assurance ...

California's first public-private partnership procurement has passed two major hurdles in the last week.  First, after a long anticipated and much-debated hearing, the California Transportation Commission approved the San Francisco Presidio Parkway Project last week on an 8-3 vote.

Second, on May 25, the California Department of Transportation released the draft request for proposals to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Presidio Parkway.  The project, sponsored by Caltrans and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, is being closely watched ...

A recent independent report on the Georgia Department of Transportation’s West by Northwest Project indicates that the project will result in significant economic benefits to the Atlanta region and statewide. Prepared by the Fiscal Research Center at Georgia State University, the report focused on the short-term effects of the project and found:

• The project will result in an estimated 9,705 private sector jobs in Georgia (including 9,169 jobs in the Atlanta metro region) that would not otherwise exist;
• The project will generate over $528 million in additional income in the ...

The IBTTA is discussing the future of tolling existing interstate capacity in light of the Federal Highway Administration’s decision to reject Pennsylvania’s application to toll Interstate 80.

My opinion?

The political barriers to tolling existing interstate capacity are just as real and monumental as raising the gas tax. In the short to mid term the more likely scenario is an acceleration of the trend to toll new capacity within existing interstate rights of way. The Ft. Lauderdale I-595, the Ft. Worth North Tarrant Express, and the Dallas I-635 are all recent examples of ...

State and local strategies to bridge the gap between traditional funding and current needs – which has been referred to as alternative finance – are now becoming mainstream. 

Consider Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s plan to speed up the development of LA’s transit infrastructure, which the LA Times reports would include financing from ‘a combination of private financing and bonds, such as Build America Bonds, established in the economic recovery bill to cut interest costs for local and state infrastructure projects.’ 

In fact, this model has already been ...

A week after the Project Finance Awards honored the Florida deals, the Infrastructure Journal Awards honored the Texas DOT’s North Tarrant Express project as its 2009 Global Transport Deal of the Year. The Florida DOT’s I-595 Project was nominated along with one other project for the honor.

The North Tarrant Express was nominated with two other projects for the IJ’s 2009 Global Deal of the Year – which selects from projects in all sectors, including: power, renewables, oil and gas, PPPs, and transport.

Nossaman was nominated along with two other law firms for the 2009 ...

The Port of Miami Tunnel Improvement Project was named the 2009 Global Deal of the Year and the 2009 North American PPP Deal of the Year by Project Finance Magazine

The I-595 Corridor Roadway Improvements Project was named the 2009 North American Transport Deal of the Year

Project Finance Magazine, a leading global infrastructure industry trade publication, announced the honors at its awards ceremony in New York on March 4th and profiles both the Port of Miami Tunnel and I-595 projects in its current issue. Nossaman is honored to have had the opportunity to work on both of ...

On February 11, 2010, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) posted a Notice of Intent to Issue a Request for Qualifications for the West by Northwest Project.  The notice of intent marks the initiation of GDOT's first P3 project under its new P3 program.  The notice of intent, is available on online at http://ssl.doas.state.ga.us/PRSapp/PublicBidNotice?bid_op=1048400NOI-484-050310P3.  GDOT intends to award a concession to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain a 29-mile segment  of managed lanes along I-75  and I-575, as well as enter into a ...

Yesterday the California Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, issued a Request for Qualifications for a public-private partnership for the Presidio Parkway project (also known as the Doyle Drive replacement project) in San Francisco.  The RFQ is available at: http://www.bidsync.com/DPX?ac=view&auc=610389

This is the first procurement initiated under the new public-private partnership law in California, SB4, codified at Section 143 of the Streets and Highways Code.

Under Section 143, the project must be ...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…  Dickens could have been describing 2009, as the P3 market continued to look strong, notwithstanding the economic downturn. Last year three significant P3 deals reached financial close in the United States: in March the I-595 in Florida, in October the Port of Miami Tunnel also in Florida, and mid-December the North Tarrant Express in Texas. All were remarkable in their own right, and cumulatively earned Nossaman the top spot in Infrastructure Journal’s league tables in the North American Transport P3 legal advisor category.

We take a look back at what made the deals remarkable and what 2010 might bring…

For the 89^th year, January brings new ideas in transportation. The 89^th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting will be held in Washington D.C., January 10-14. 

Reflecting the theme of Investing in Our Transportation Future – BOLD Ideas to Meet BIG Challenges, Nossaman Partner Geoffrey Yarema will give a presentation titled "P3 Successes and Lessons Learned" on January 10. Nossaman Partner Nancy Smith will give a presentation titled "Public-Private Partnership Update" on January 11. 

We look forward to discussing and learning with others.

Ahead of schedule, NTE Mobility Partners has announced that the Texas Department of Transportation’s North Tarrant Express Managed Lanes project has reached financial close. Under the PPP deal, NTE Mobility - a Cintra-led consortium - will build, finance, maintain and operate a 13-mile corridor in the congested Dallas-Fort Worth area. The $2.02 billion project includes funding from $400 million worth of private activity bonds (PABs), $650 million in TIFIA credits, $573 million in investment from TxDOT, and $427 million in equity from NTE Mobility. The project reached ...

The closing of the Port of Miami Tunnel Project deal was just short of miraculous, given the tight financial markets and the political ups and downs of the project procurement. Novel risk allocations helped ensure the success of the deal. The current issue of Public Works Finance includes an excerpted discussion of the risks and the way the Florida Department of Transportation chose to address them. The full text of Port of Miami Tunnel: Digging Through Novel Risks is available on Infra Insight.