Infra Insight Blog

The Regents of the University of California, on behalf of the University of California, Merced, issued a draft Request for Proposals (RFP) for the UC Merced 2020 Project on May 7, 2015.  The draft RFP was provided to the three proposers that were shortlisted in January 2015:

• E3 2020:  Balfour Beatty Investments, Inc.

• EP2 Developers:  Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate LLC, Plenary Group (Canada) Ltd., and Education Realty Trust, Inc.

• Merced Campus Collaborative:Lend Lease (US) Investments, Inc., Macquarie Capital Group Ltd., and ACC OP Development LLC

According to ...

The Texas Transportation Commission has conditionally awarded a comprehensive development agreement to Flatiron/Dragados for the longest cable stayed bridge in the United States.  The new Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge will allow larger ships to deliver their cargo to the Port of Corpus Christi, serving as an economic catalyst for the region and the State of Texas.

The conditional award, which took place at the April 30 meeting of the Texas Transportation Commission, authorizes TxDOT and Flatiron/Dragados to enter final negotiations for the design, construction, finance and ...

On March 31, 2015, Congressman John K. Delaney (D-MD) spoke at the Washington Briefing of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBBTA) in Washington, DC. At the event, Congressman Delaney provided an update on a bipartisan bill he has sponsored known as The Infrastructure 2.0 Act to fund the federal highway program. The bill uses international corporate tax reform to provide a six-year funding source for the Highway Trust Fund. Specifically, the bill establishes a mandatory, one-time 8.75% tax on existing overseas profits accumulated by U.S. multi-national ...

Federal transportation officials are contemplating new contract rules that would make it easier for states and cities to hire local residents to work on transportation projects.  Federal rules currently prohibit the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) from allowing contract provisions that do not directly relate to the bidder's performance of work.  Thus, local hiring provisions have not been allowed in procurements for federally funded projects.  This month, however, U.S. Transportation Secretary, Anthony Foxx, announced a ...

"Best value" procurements are sometimes criticized as involving a "black box" decision-making process.  A recent report issued by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) discusses practices to increase transparency in such procurements.  The report is NCHRP’s latest installment of its Synthesis of Highway Practice, issued on March 5, 2015.  A resource for public agencies, this synthesis addresses best practices for developing transparent best value selection procedures in public procurements.  These concepts are of particular interest to public and ...

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) announced today it has shortlisted three developer teams vying for the $1.9 billion design-build-maintain contract for the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway Project.  The three multidiscipline teams, in alphabetical order, are:

• Connect 202 Partners

  •  Fluor Enterprises Inc.
  • Granite Construction Co.
  • Ames Construction Inc.
  • Parsons Brinckerhoff Inc.
  • DBi Services LLC
  • AZTEC Engineering Group, Inc.
  • Stanley Consultants
  • Kleinfelder Group, Inc.
  • AMEC Environmental & Infrasstructure, Inc.
  • The Transtec Group
  • Gunn Communications, Inc.

The Second Annual Conference of the Mileage-Based User Fee Alliance (MBUFA) was held in Washington, DC on February 24, 2015.  The MBUFA is a non-profit organization that promotes awareness and education about mileage-based user fees as an alternative for the future funding of improvements to the U.S. transportation system.  Attendees included policy makers, public sector representatives and private sector stakeholders weighing in on the topic Sustainable Transportation Funding, Road User Fees: Is There Another Option for Achieving Financial Sustainability?   The concept of a ...

Although historically the investment profile for pension funds has focused on established brownfields assets, the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has recently invested $525 million AUD into the greenfields NorthConnex road tunnel in Sydney, Australia in partnership with experienced road operator Transurban and the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC). CPPIB’s investment comes hot on the heels of the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System’s (DPFPS) 2010 equity investment in Texas’ LBJ  Freeway (I‐635) managed lanes toll-road, among other ...

Florida Governor Rick Scott broke ground yesterday on the I-4 Ultimate Project, which will rebuild I-4 in metro-Orlando. The Project involves the reconstruction of 21 miles of I-4 from west of Kirkman Road in Orange County to east of State Road 434 in Seminole County and promises to bring much needed relief to one of the most congested highways in the state. Along with developing a signature corridor with aesthetic enhancements and landscaping to convey the Florida Experience, the Project will provide a choice to motorists by adding two variable priced toll express lanes in each ...

The House Transportation Committee has approved the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act, a bill that would reauthorize Amtrak and other rail programs.  The bill is substantially the same as the 2014 legislation and is described by the Committee as bipartisan legislation that improves the infrastructure, reduces costs, creates greater accountability and transparency, leverages private sector resources, and accelerates project delivery for Amtrak and the Nation’s passenger rail transportation system.  The 2014 bill did not receive a vote in the full House and the Senate ...