Infra Insight Blog

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (NYMTA) board has approved a $1.8 billion expansion project for another important milestone in Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s, comprehensive, interconnected plan to improve transit and transportation throughout the New York metropolitan region.

The project includes signal system and bridge state-of-good-repair elements, but the central element is the addition of a 9.8-mile third track between Floral Park and Hicksville, NY on a segment of the LIRR mainline that handles more than 250 trains per weekday.

The project also ...

President Trump recently appointed former Seyfarth Shaw LLP (Seyfarth) attorney Juan D. Reyes, III as Chief Counsel of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).  Mr. Reyes was previously a partner in the real estate department of the New York City office of Seyfarth and he led the firm’s P3 practice.  Proponents of P3s may be pleased to have a Chief Counsel that understands the potential benefits of P3s.

The appointment of Mr. Reyes marks a continuation from the Obama Administration of appointing counsel with P3 experience.  President Obama’s first FRA Chief Counsel, Karen ...

Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) announced last Thursday that it has received three Technical Proposals in response to its Request for Proposals for the Automated People Mover (APM) project.

Part of LAWA’s $5.5 billion Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP), the APM system will be approximately 2.25 miles long and feature an elevated dual lane guideway, six passenger stations, and an off-line maintenance and storage facility.  Three stations will be located within the central terminal area at LAX, and three stations will be located at two new intermodal transportation ...

The Canadian government is taking a new approach to P3s.  By the end of 2017, PPP Canada will have ceased operations, and the Canada Infrastructure Bank (the CIB) will be launched.

Year end is nearly upon us.  What has PPP Canada accomplished, and what is expected from the new CIB?

PPP Canada’s Contributions

PPP Canada was established by the Harper government in 2008.  At that time, certain provinces were already very experienced in the delivery of large and complex public infrastructure projects using P3 delivery models (including British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario).  The specific ...

Last week the House Republican leadership unveiled its much anticipated US tax reform bill.  The bill proposes the most sweeping changes to the tax code in 30 years—since the 1986 Tax Act, which by the way imposed many of the restrictions on private activity bonds that we operate under today.  Among its many provisions would be the outright elimination of tax exempt private activity bonds for a host of public works type projects.

PABs have been the cornerstone of the financing of billions and billions of dollars of new public infrastructure—much of the focus has been on the $6.5 billion ...

The United States has the largest emerging public-private partnership (P3) market in the world for infrastructure projects. Due to decreased tax revenue and shrinking budgets, many state and local governments in the southern United States have embraced alternative methods of project delivery. Public entities in the southern United States boast some of the most extensive P3 experience in the U.S. and it dates back to before the turn of the century with the Pocahontas Parkway in Virginia, Texas, and Florida pioneering several complex P3s.

Public officials and industry partners ...

This week, the Regents of the University of California and the University of California, Merced are celebrating the one-year anniversary of groundbreaking for the $1.3 billion, 1.2 million GSF UC Merced 2020 Project (the Project).

The Project involves the design, construction, financing, operation, and maintenance of a broad mix of academic, residential, student life, and recreational facilities at the University of California’s Merced campus, including the simultaneous construction of 13 new buildings, and is expected to nearly double the physical capacity of the ...

The UC Merced 2020 Project was a big winner at P3 Bulletin’s annual P3 Awards ceremony held in Washington D.C. last month, claiming the Gold Award for Best Social Infrastructure Project, along with the Silver Award in the Government Agency of the Year category. The award comes approximately one year after the historic groundbreaking on the project, which is currently under construction.

The project consists of the comprehensive development, design, construction, financing, operations, and maintenance of academic, administrative, research, recreational, student ...

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) District kicked off passenger rail revenue service in Sonoma and Marin counties last week. The 43-mile rail line includes ten stations from the Sonoma County Airport to Downtown San Rafael.

The new service operates across former Northwestern Pacific Railway Co. (NWP) rail line. Acquisition of the rail line dates back to 1969 when the California Legislature directed the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation District to develop a transportation facilities plan. In its plan, the district recommended the preservation of ...

In the early hours of August 15, 2017, the Denver City Council approved a $1.8 billion development agreement between the City and County of Denver’s Department of Aviation and Denver Great Hall, LLC, a consortium led by Madrid-based Ferrovial, for the Great Hall Project. The City Council’s approval follows a 12-month predevelopment and negotiation phase and represents an opportunity for the airport to leverage the expertise of the Ferrovial-led team to relocate and modernize its security screening facilities and revitalize and expand concessions offerings within the ...