Infra Insight Blog

On July 6, 2012 President Obama signed into law MAP-21, which, among other things, contained new National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") requirements for the Federal Transit Administration ("FTA") and Federal Highway Administration ("FHWA").  In January 2014, pursuant to a mandate in MAP-21, FTA and FHWA adopted new regulations, which became effective this week on February 12, governing the implementation of two new categorical exclusions. The two new categorical exclusions apply to (1) projects within an existing right-of-way, and (2) projects receiving limited Federal ...

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced yesterday that it has received four Technical Proposals in response to its Request for Proposals for the I-4 Ultimate Project. On June 5, 2013, FDOT announced a shortlist of four proposers, all of whom submitted proposals seeking the contract to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the project.

The estimated $2 billion project, which will be developed through a public-private partnership concession agreement, includes the reconstruction of 21 miles of I-4 in the metro Orlando area. The project adds four tolled ...

Yesterday the Arizona Department of Transportation issued to the P3 and design-build industry a Request for Information for the South Mountain Freeway project. ADOT is seeking perspective and feedback from lead developers, design-build contractors, maintenance contractors, and equity investors on a list of questions, and is providing an opportunity for industry input on the overall procurement process for the project.

Responses are requested by February 25. ADOT will convene and open industry forum on the project at the ADOT auditorium on February 27, and the industry has ...

California Senate Bill 593 (SB 593), introduced by Senator Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), shows the interest of some State legislators in implementing performance-based infrastructure (PBI) in social programs.

SB 593 would require the California Office of Planning and Research to administer a Social Impact Partnership Pilot Program (the Pilot Program) beginning in 2015.  The Pilot Program would authorize the Director of the Office of Planning and Research (Director) to identify and submit proposed social impact partnerships to the California Legislature for its consideration each ...

Victor Mendez, Acting Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation, participated this morning in a Bloomberg Government panel entitled America on the Move: Investing in U.S. Infrastructure. In a wide-ranging discussion, he addressed the issue of long-term funding for U.S. infrastructure.

He commented that there is a need for many funding options and we need the private sector in the mix. The TIFIA program has been successful, financing 40 or so projects so far with the private sector, many of them toll roads.  Some of the projects are very long term, up to 50 years.

Mendez ...

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Ranking Member Nick Rahall (D-WV) announced the creation of a special committee panel to examine public-private partnerships (P3s) in the United States.  This panel will inform the Committee’s work this year on reauthorizing surface transportation programs and other legislative activity.

Committee Vice Chairman John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN) will serve as the Chair, while Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA) will be the Ranking Member.  Joining them are five other Republicans - Candice Miller of ...

On January 8, 2014, the Maryland Department of Transportation and the Maryland Transit Administration announced that four teams were short-listed to submit proposals to design, build, construct, finance, operate and maintain the Purple Line Project through a public-private partnership (P3). The estimated $2.2 billion Purple Line Project is 16.2 mile light rail transit line that extends from Bethesda in Montgomery County to New Carrollton in Prince George’s County, connecting major activity centers inside the Capital Beltway. The four teams, representing a combination of ...

Posted by guest blogger William Moore.

William Moore of Vianovo works with the Transportation Transformation Group,  a consortia of public and private entities that looks at ways of improving the funding and financing of the nation's transportation infrastructure, which is co-chaired by Nossaman Partner Geoffrey Yarema.

Don’t let anyone tell you the Bipartisan Budget Agreement (BBA) enacted this week by Congress and President Barack Obama is good for transportation. The BBA rolls back the sequester of discretionary spending scheduled for 2014 and 2015 and increases ...

On Saturday, December 21, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) celebrated the opening of the North Line in Houston, Texas.  The 5.3-mile northern extension of METRO’s Red Line includes eight new stations and connects the University of Houston-Downtown and the Northline Commons Mall, making the entire Red Line nearly 13 miles.

The opening of the first new rail line in 10 years is going to bring "positive changes for the community," interim METRO president Tom Lambert said.  As the first to serve residential neighborhoods, the line will allow METRO "to see how we ...

The Maryland Department of Transportation and Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT/ MTA) announced on December 11, 2013 that six private-sector teams responded to a Request for Qualifications to design, build, construct, finance, operate and maintain the Purple Line project.  The list of proposer teams is included in the joint press release.

The 16-mile light rail line, which will be constructed under Maryland’s newly adopted Public-Private Partnership law, runs between Bethesda in Montgomery County, Maryland and New Carrollton in Prince George’s County, Maryland.  ...