Real deals: Six P3 jobs in 7 states now underway

by NATE WELLEK and ROB McMANAMY | August 8, 2016

It seems almost every day we hear about a big Private-Public Partnership (P3) project, and it's not often good news. The latest woes are even playing out on the world stage right now, where the P3 contracts behind much of the troubled construction for the ongoing Rio Olympics are unavoidably stained.

Indeed, high-profile misfires, bankruptcies, and litigation in Texas, Illinois, California, Canada, and elsewhere, admittedly have dimmed the glow on P3, which had been promoted by many as a savior for much-needed, long-overdue infrastructure projects that cash-strapped public entities were unable to accomplish on their own. But as newsworthy as the missteps may be, they are not the whole story.

Truth be told, P3 does appear to be succeeding as a welcome alternative financing method on a number of mega-projects, often involving global partners, all across the U.S. Here are just six big P3 programs either nearing completion or approaching significant milestones in seven different states:

1. EAGLE P3 COMMUTER RAIL LINE (DENVER, CO)

Value: $2.2 billion;
Completion date: Late 2016;
P3 Partners: Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD), plus private Denver Transit Partners (DTP): Fluor, Balfour Beatty Rail, ACI, Ames Construction, Hyundai Rotem, and HDR Inc.;
Scale/size: All 36 miles of new commuter rail lines all are scheduled to open this year, in sequence, starting with RTD's University of Colorado A Line (now open), Gold (G) Line, Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility and Northwest Rail (B) Line Westminster segment;
Significance: Nation's first public-private partnership project for commuter rail.

2. OHIO RIVER BRIDGE, EAST END CROSSING (IN, KY)

Value: $1.3 billion;
Completion date: Late 2016;
P3 Partners: States of Kentucky & Indiana; WVB East End Partners: Walsh Construction; VINCI Highways SAS; Bilfinger Project Investments International Holding GmbH;
Project Advisors: Jacobs Engineering; HDR Inc., FIGG Bridge Inspection;
Scale/size: Cable-stayed bridge spans 2,500 ft over Ohio River, features two convex diamond towers, two lanes in each direction, expandable to three, and a 13-ft-wide pedestrian/ bike path;
Impact: Together, the Louisville (KY) and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority, a bi-state agency, has been responsible for the financing of the $2.3 billion Ohio River Bridges program;
Additional Details: FHWA Office of Innovative Program Delivery.

3. LaGuardia Airport, Terminal B (New york, nY)

Value: $4.2 billion;
Completion date: 2019;
P3 Partners: Owner Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is working with LaGuardia Gateway Partners (LGP). Led by developers Vantage Airport Group and Meridiam Infrastructure, LGP includes a design joint veture of HOK and WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff, and a construction joint venture of Skanska USA and Walsh Construction;
Scale/size: Thirty new gates, spread over 1.3 million sq ft;
Impact: Projected to generate 8,000 direct jobs and another 10,000 indirect jobs.

4. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED - 2020 project

Value: $1.3 billion;
Completion date: 2020;
P3 Partners: UC Merced, Plenary Group, Webcor Builders, SOM, and Johnson Controls;
Scale/size: Mixed-use, 1.2 million-sq-ft project will add 1,700 student beds, 1,500 parking spaces;
Local twist: The 2020 Project is an "availability-payment concession", in which a single private development team designs, builds, operates, and maintains major building systems and partially finances the entire project under a single contract. The Project Agreement will run for 39 years.

5. PURPLE LINE TRANSIT, New Carrolton to Bethesda (MD)

Value: $5.6 billion;
Completion date: 2022;
P3 Partners: Maryland Dept. of Transportation, USDOT-FTA, Meridiam Infrastructure, Fluor, Traylor Bros., Lane Construction, Atkins, and Star America Infrastructure Partners;
Scale/size: 16.2-mi.-long rail line includes 21 stations; will handle 70,000-plus riders daily;
Public share: Final cost for the state over 36-year project agreement will be $3.3 billion.

6. Texas Grand Parkway (Houston, TX)

Value: $2.9 billion;
Completion date: 2022;
P3 Partners: Texas Dept. of Transportation (TxDOT); Grand Parkway Transportation Corp: Zachry-Odebrecht Parkway Builders, CH2M; Sperry Capital;
Scale/size: 184 miles of State Highway 99 (SH 99, the Grand Parkway) traverses seven counties and encircles the Greater Houston metroplex;
National recognition: In June, first leg of project was named a winner of the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships (NCPPP) annual Infrastructure Award. Grand Parkway shared this award with the California Dept. of Transportation's Presidio Parkway project, a $1.1 billion replacement of San Francisco’s heavily traveled southern entry point to the Golden Gate Bridge.

ON the ballot: TEXAS RANGERS STADIUM (ARLINGTON, TX)

Value: $1 billion; 50/50 split, dependent on November referendum;
Completion date: 2021;
Proposed P3 Partners: City of Arlington TX and Texas Rangers; Above rendering by Kansas City-based sports architecture firm Populous;
Scale/size: 40,000-seat; retractable roof, air-conditioning;
Inconvenient truth: Project would replace the critically acclaimed Ballpark at Arlington, now Global Life Park, which is just 22 years old. Opened in 1994, that $191-million facility was designed by Fort Worth architect David Schwarz, who said then it should last 100 years.