Transportation P3s in the fast lane

Transportation public-private partnerships of various shapes and in various stages are popping up around the country, with a pipeline of more than $22 billion and the action centered in the southeast.

North Carolina is the latest state to consider jumping on the toll lane and bridge P3 bandwagon. Georgia, the leader in the space, recently announced its latest procurement and Tennessee is advancing its first of a series of P3 toll lane projects. A pair of new laws in Florida is expected to pave the way for more toll road P3s in the Sunshine State. Nevada could see its first toll road P3 if state lawmakers approve a proposal from a small, growing town, and Illinois is asking the private sector about its interest in building a new cargo airport in suburban Chicago.

"This is a great time for P3s," said Robert Poole, director of transportation policy at Reason Foundation who has been writing annual P3 reports for more than 15 years. "I think we're at a new high, in the projects that are already underway, those in the procurement stages and others that may come along."

North Carolina has one P3, a concession with Spanish firm Cintra for I-77 North express toll lanes, a project that despite early controversy has proven successful enough that the state is now eying the same thing for I-77 South. Cintra in 2022 submitted an unsolicited bid for I-77 South, but the state rejected the bid, saying it needed to do a more detailed review.

Now the North Carolina Department of Transportation has released results of a study that found using a P3 delivery would cost around $500 million less than a traditional delivery. The study also said state funds are insufficient to build the project without a P3.

NCDOT officials in August presented the study to the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization, which would have to approve the I-77 project. The CRTPO, which did not respond to a request for comment, is expected to take the issue up again at its meeting Wednesday with a potential vote in October.

The project, which would widen 11 miles of I-77 in Charlotte from the South Carolina state line to I-277, carries an estimated $3.7 billion price tag with a traditional toll delivery method and $3.2 billion with a P3 toll delivery method, according to the minutes from the August meeting.

If a P3 is approved, the state expects to see strong interest from private entities, NCDOT official Brett Canipe told the CRTPO. Canipe said NCDOT has "had conversations with multiple qualified firms and stated that there is significant interest," according to the minutes. He "cited the success of the I-77 north project as potential leverage to negotiate a contract with more favorable terms" for the state and its residents.

"Observations from other P3 projects indicate that strong developer interest would lead to more competitive pricing, increasing levels of optimism within the express lane's traffic and revenue projections, and/or lower initial equity return requirements," the minutes said.

With a traditional toll delivery method, the earliest funding could be made available for the project would be 2029, followed by a 10 to 15-year project delivery phase, Canipe said. With a P3, the project would take an estimated seven to nine years following procurement.

NCDOT has asked the board to vote within the next two months to allow NCDOT to plug the project into its 2026-2035 plan.

The state is also considering a P3 for the Mid-Currituck bridge, a long-planned project to upgrade the only highway crossing of the Currituck Sound along the North Carolina coast. The $1 billion project, which has been in the works since before 2010, would build a seven-mile span to alleviate congestion and speed up evacuation times. A design-build-operate-finance-maintain structure is being considered, Poole said.

NCDOT officials did not respond to a request for comment.

Among all the states, Georgia remains the current leader in the express lane P3 space. The state has made building an extensive express lanes network to relieve congestion a transportation priority but it's been marked by various delays. Now the flagship project, the $4.6 billion SR-400 Express Lanes project, is poised to move forward.

The project, which adds 16 miles of lanes, was halted in 2021 after failing to attract any bids within its budget. Then in 2022, Georgia dropped the availability-payment structure and designed the deal as a revenue-risk DBFOM with a 50-year concession. It is the state's first revenue-risk P3, said Poole, who called it a "big deal."

In August, the State Transportation Board approved the final selection of SR 400 Peach Partners, a three-party consortium between Acciona Concessions, ACS Infrastructure, and Meridiam.

The financing is expected to include a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan and taxable and tax-exempt bonds. JP Morgan Securities and RBC Capital Markets are part of the underwriting team, according to ACS Group. The project will also include a $100 state bond to finance a MARTA bus rapid transit line which will ride for free in the express lanes.

Georgia is also using a P3 to reconstruct and add toll lanes to the Atlanta Beltway I-285, a $6 billion project that will happen in at least two stages. GDOT is expected to have a meeting with potential bidders before year's end, according to Poole.

In August, Louisiana reached financial close on the Calcasieu River Bridge, a $2.3 billion project that marks the state's largest P3 to date. The 50-year design, build, finance, operate and maintain project hit the skids last year amid political opposition to the proposed toll rates. In February, the Joint Legislative Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committee approved the deal  after Gov. Jeff Landry in January announced key changes like reduced tolling rates. Under the deal, the state gets 15% of toll revenues, an arrangement that Poole said was relatively rare among U.S. P3 concessions. The financing included $150 million federal Mega grant and $100 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, among other sources.  

The state is also considering a revenue-risk P3 for a new bridge across the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge and a freight corridor dubbed the St. Bernard Transportation Corridor for the Port of New Orleans that's part of the port's new international terminal.

Tennessee, which two years ago authorized transportation P3s, has also hit the gas on its transportation P3 projects and is pushing toward procurement for the first of four projects. The state has been holding public meetings and is set to issue a request for proposals next year for toll lanes on I-24, which will widen the highway and add two lanes each way for 26 miles. The full project is expected to carry a $5 billion price tag.

In the Midwest, Illinois has put out an Request for Qualifications to build a suburban Chicago cargo-focused airport in Will County. The state is eying either a revenue-risk or hybrid availability-payment model, Poole said. A recent study said the airport would generate $1.3 billion for the region.

Virginia, which has long been the national leader on the P3 transportation front, remains in talks with Transurban about two new projects, one that would add express lanes to I-495 and another that would convert existing I-95 express lanes to operate in both directions instead of switching direction along with traffic. That project would likely require a substantial contribution by the state to advance, according to Poole.