Public-private partnership

Louisiana, Georgia, Tennessee and Illinois have transportation P3s on tap, and the Army Corps of Engineers is advancing its first four P3 programs.

The state expects to release a RFQ for interested consortiums later this year and has named I-24 as the first toll lane project.

States are considering tolls, public-private partnerships, per-mile usage fees and even retail delivery fees to shore up transportation funding among a declining motor fuel tax.

Financing for the $2.1 billion Calcasieu River bridge includes a mix of state funds, federal grants and bonds, which will hit the market in early April.

The troubled P3 project has been behind schedule and over budget.

The new governor and concessionaire on the $2.1 billion P3 have reached a revised deal that will lower tolls and provide a 15% equity contribution to the local area.

The bill would require government agencies to undertake an independent audit and a public comment period before entering into P3s among other provisions.

The delays have led to a technical default by the design-build contractor on the $450 million project to design, finance, build, operate and maintain the Thruway's 27 service areas.

Well-known municipal restructuring and P3 attorney Karol Denniston, the Global Projects Partner at Squire Patton Boggs, talks with infrastructure reporter Caitlin Devitt about the growing popularity of predevelopment agreements as well as the P3 pipeline and legal challenges like the University of Iowa's litigation over its 50-year energy concession. (38 minutes)

The deal marks one of the rare instances of true asset recycling in the U.S.