Infra Insight Blog

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.

California is now ready to assess P3 candidate projects. At its October 14^th meeting, the California Transportation Commission approved policy guidance addressing the Commission’s role in selecting proposed P3 projects. The CTC developed the guidelines to assist Caltrans and regional transportation agencies (RTAs) as they move to develop P3 transportation projects, taking advantage of the new authority granted to them under Senate Bill X2 4, enacted in February of this year.

The enabling legislation requires the CTC to select projects nominated by Caltrans or an RTA ...

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), announced at a press conference in Miami today that it has reached financial close on the Port of Miami Tunnel Project. 

FDOT, in partnership with Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami, entered into an agreement with MAT Concessionaire, LLC (MAT) which includes Meridiam Infrastructure Finance, S.a.r.l. and Bouygues Travaux Publics as equity members. The $900 million public-private partnership (PPP) deal uses an availability payment structure that provides for payment to MAT over 30 years after completion of construction ...

With the delay of the federal transportation re-authorization and federal transportation funding in limbo, state transportation agencies across the nation are trying to cope any way they can. In California this week, 19 self help local transportation financing agencies - that collectively generate more than $4 billion a year for transportation - drew a large crowd of transportation public agency officials, elected officials, contractors and consultants to the 20^th Annual Focus on the Future Conference in Los Angeles to explore their options. Conference speakers discussed current developments in transportation funding, environmental compliance and project delivery. The news on project delivery and innovation was positive, the environmental compliance news mixed, and the funding news pretty discouraging.

Interspersed with the grim chronicling of the current state and federal funding landscapes, the conference highlighted some bright spots, including federal ARRA funds, Measure R funding in Los Angeles, and innovative project delivery, PPPs and congestion pricing.

Included in New Jersey’s Economic Stimulus Act of 2009  are provisions to allow the use of PPPs to design, build, finance, operate and maintain higher education facilities.  Is this the start of a trend for developing social infrastructure in the US?

Social infrastructure includes housing, educational, recreational and law and order facilities that support the community's need for social interaction.  As reflected by several projects in Canada, this is not a new concept for North America.  Along with the recent use of a PPP for development of the Long Beach Courthouse, New Jersey’s ...

Two potential public-private partnership transit projects appear closer to leaving the station, after several delays. Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) recently held a public hearing on the Eagle P3 project and is poised to issue a request for proposals to three prequalified/shortlisted teams on September 30th with proposals anticipated in March 2010. Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is on an accelerated schedule for its stimulus-revamped Oakland Airport Connector project, with proposals due in late September and contract award slated for December.

The Federal ...

The Florida Department of Transportation’s I-595 project and its public and private partners won several awards at this year’s American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) P3 conference. It’s pretty much a Florida sweep, declared Pamela Bailey-Campbell, ARTBA Public Private Ventures Division president, as she announced the recipients of the Project, Public Sector Entrepreneur, and Private Sector Entrepreneur of 2009.

Bailey-Campbell announced three awards at the September 25 award luncheon in Washington D.C. The I-595 project in Fort Lauderdale ...

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has endorsed USDOT’s policy of allocating Highway Trust Fund (HTF) apportionments based on total lane miles in each state – including miles of highway built, operated or maintained through public private partnerships (PPPs).

Each state’s share of the nation’s highway system (quantified as lane miles) has factored in federal aid allocations since 1976, though initially this measure excluded tolled facilities. In 1998, Congress greatly expanded the use of the lane mile funding formula with TEA-21, and eliminated the ...

Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) officials executed a comprehensive development agreement (CDA) with the LBJ Infrastructure Group to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain the 13-mile LBJ-635 corridor in Dallas County. Following the North Tarrant Express (June 2009), the LBJ-635 is TxDOT’s second toll concession to reach commercial close this year.

Construction is expected to begin by mid-2011 and open to traffic in late 2016. Motorists will have a choice of either using the managed toll lanes or remaining on the improved and rebuilt free main ...

In addition to the recent passage of comprehensive P3 legislation in Arizona and California, the newly created Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has also been authorized to utilize public private partnerships for transportation projects. Provisions for design-build-operate-maintain (DBOM) and design-build-finance-operate-maintain (DBFOM) procurements are included in Senate Bill 2087, commonly known as the "Transportation Reform Act," under which MassDOT was formed. Under the Act, P3’s may be used for a new or existing highway, road ...

The Mississippi Transportation Commission has suspended the procurement for the Airport Parkway P3 project, citing the ongoing credit crisis and resulting pressures on revenue projections and senior debt credit ratings.

The Airport Parkway project, the first public-private partnership and first toll road project advanced in Mississippi, includes the development of a new 12-mile toll road and several bridges in the Jackson metropolitan area.  In August 2008, Mississippi DOT shortlisted three teams vying for the 50-year concession: ACS/Dragados, Cintra/Ferrovial, and ...

Arizona has passed comprehensive P3 legislation on the heels of the passage of similar legislation in California.  Last month, Governor Jan Brewer signed House Bill 2396 which both updates Arizona’s existing toll road development and operations laws and gives the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) broad authority to develop and operate a range of transportation projects through a variety of delivery methods.

Under House Bill 2396  ADOT is authorized to use virtually  any innovative delivery method, including P3s.  Facilities eligible in the bill include: new or ...

Arlington County is seeking to delay (or possibly derail) a project designed to ease congestion and add new lanes to Northern Virginia’s clogged 95/395 corridor.  Arlington has challenged the Categorical Exclusion (CE) granted by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which allowed the project to move forward without a full environmental analysis.

Arlington is concerned that the new lanes will increase congestion throughout the corridor, and lengthen travel times, especially for transit.  Buses, carpools (HOV-3), motorcycles and emergency vehicles will have free ...

California is serious about using its new legislative authority to deliver some of the state’s much-needed transportation projects through public-private partnerships (P3s). On August 12, 2009, the California Transportation Commission issued draft guidelines addressing the Commission’s role in approving the P3 delivery method for specific projects.

The draft guidelines follow the California legislature’s momentous enactment of Senate Bill 4, referred to as SBX2 4.  That bill authorizes Caltrans and regional transportation agencies to enter into P3s for ...

A recent survey conducted by KPMG International confirms what many in the infrastructure industry already knew: current infrastructure investment is insufficient to support economic growth and politics frequently influences infrastructure development in the United States.  In this global survey, KPMG surveyed 455 infrastructure executives, including 118 from the United States.

While much of the recent industry press has focused on the lack of available financing as the primary challenge to delivering infrastructure, a vast majority of the respondents indicated that ...

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T) are in the early phases of procuring a firm to enter into a Public Private Partnership to design, construct, operate, maintain and finance a cross regional passenger rail service known as the Cotton Belt Rail Line starting on or about 2013.

The Cotton Belt Rail Line PPP project is intended to provide regional rail connectivity for communities along the project corridor to Fort Worth, Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Airport, the DART transit network, and major activity centers along the corridor.  This ...