Dive Brief:
- Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner and state legislators have announced a plan to build the first public-private partnership (P3) managed lane project in the state.
- The Illinois Department of Transportation is allowed to use P3s only if the general assembly adopts a resolution supporting a proposed project, according to Better Road News.
- Officials estimate a P3 for this project, which could start as early as next year and be complete by 2019, will save the state $435 million in construction costs.
Dive Insight:
"By using existing resources to leverage private investment, we can build the type of infrastructure that allows Illinois to better compete in the 21st century," Rauner said. "This is an innovative project that will create jobs, improve the region’s quality of life and show that Illinois is open for business."
The lane will be added to a section of I-55 on which an estimated 170,000 vehicles travel each day. The plan also creates options for tolled and non-tolled carpool lanes in addition to express toll lanes. A federal environmental study, which will be completed this year, will determine which type of lane is to be used.
"This project signals a new way of doing business at IDOT and a model for improvements throughout our system," Illinois Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn said.
P3s continue to nab an increasing share of road and highway projects.
New York has made P3s an integral tool in the implementation of its $100 billion infrastructure plan, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in January. The new LaGuardia airport is being built using a P3, and no doubt other major projects, like a $22 billion investment in upstate roads and bridges and the addition of a third track to the Long Island Rail Road’s Main Line, will include some use of P3s.
Georgia has also jumped on the P3 bandwagon, with officials saying the state plans to use them to add a series of express lanes, truck lanes and standard lanes to the interstate system as part of Gov. Nathan Deal’s $10 billion, 10-year transportation investment plan.
In December, the Arizona Department of Transportation in December chose a Fluor Enterprises-led consortium to design, build and maintain a $1.9 billion, 22-mile portion of Phoenix freeway Loop 202 as part of a P3. The consortium, which also includes Granite Construction Co., Ames Construction, Inc. and Parsons Brinckerhoff Inc., will also maintain the highway under a 30-year maintenance agreement.
