<div id="readability-page-1"><div>By Alison HealeyThree unsolicited mega project proposals have been submitted in the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Public-Private Transportation Partnership Board. Details were released at the recent DoT board meetingCintra has proposed a US$5bn managed lanes project near Pittsburgh. The project will advance to a detailed screening process, along with two other unsolicited proposals and a solicited proposal, according to a presentation from P3 office director Mike Bonini.The proposal for I-76 Schuylkill Expressway from Cintra calls for four new tolled managed lanes, two in each direction, along 17 miles of interstate highway. Cintra first proposed the project in 2021 but has revised its submission.The P3 would be done under design-build-finance-operate-maintain model and include a US$200m payment to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Cintra has proposed a 50-year maintenance period.PennDOT has held discussions with Cintra and is reviewing technical and financial analyses for project feasibility as a P3, according to documents from the board.Cintra has been active in managed lanes elsewhere in the country as the projects have accounted for the majority of US P3 activity in recent years. It delivered the first phase of I-77 Express Lanes in Charlotte, North Carolia in a partnership and last year regional transportation officials voted to explore an unsolicited proposal for more managed lanes on the interstate. The affirmative vote enabled the North Carolina Department of Transportation to evaluate a new proposal from Cintra on the project.Georgia and Tennessee have also been focused on managed lanes, with SR 400 Peach Partners, comprising ACS Infrastructure, Acciona, and Meridiam, this year reaching financial close on the SR 400 Express Lanes project in Atlanta, Georgia that broke records for the size of its private activity bond offering and Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan.Pennsylvania’s two other unsolicited proposals selected for detailed screening are an airport connector road and a Pittsburgh area bridge replacement programme. Jacobs Engineering has proposed the South Philadelphia accelerated ramp connections project that would deliver a new I-95 interchange as a tolled facility.The cost is estimated at US$500m–$600m. The project responds to PennDOT's I-95 master plan which calls for a new interchange between Broad Street and the Walt Whitman Bridge with two-lane on/off ramps and an approximate one-mile long four-lane roadway and bridge. Jacobs’ proposal would deliver the interchange through a P3 investment partnership and prior to other I-95 planned area reconstruction.The US unit of Israel's Shikun &amp; Binui has proposed an accelerated progressive delivery for the replacement or reconstruction of City of Pittsburgh-owned bridges over three years. The proposed US$150m–$400m project would be procured and delivered through a design-build-finance model, including a pre-development agreement to initially develop and finalise the bridges for delivery.Shikun &amp; Binui has previously worked with the state P3 authority and PennDOT as the construction contractor and 40% equity holder on the Major Bridges P3 which is underway through private partner Bridging Pennsylvania along with Macquarie Infrastructure Developments.In the solicited proposal Allegheny County Airport Authority has proposed the development of permanent office facilities at Pittsburgh International Airport through a P3 with an estimated cost of US$50m. It has proposed an autonomous shuttle system at the airport with an estimated cost of US$75m. The office space P3 will deliver new corporate office space to replace temporary workspaces used by Allegheny County Airport Authority staff following the completion of its terminal modernisation programme.The office complex is expected to house administrative functions and leadership operations essential to ACAA’s post-modernisation business continuity. A P3 approach could solve the problem of an expected lack of available capital immediately post-modernisation and lead to expedited delivery of office facilities by leveraging private sector investment and expertise.The autonomous shuttle will transport passengers between parking facilities and the terminal and will offer a more direct, efficient, and reliable alternative to existing manually operated shuttles. The system will also aim to reduce congestion, lower emissions, and support the airport’s long-term goals for sustainability and innovation. A P3 approach allows the airport to leverage private-sector expertise and investment to complete the project.The latest board presentation provided updates on other P3s in progress. Its compressed natural gas fueling stations P3, led by Trillium, opened its first station in 2017 and has completed 22 of the 24 planned stations. The P3 has created “significant cost savings”, the board said, and the final station is expected to be complete by 2027. The Major Bridge P3 project, comprised of the rehabilitation and replacement of six major bridges and their surrounding network, “continues to exceed the goals and milestone estimations set at the onset”, the update stated, and all six bridges are scheduled for completion by summer 2028.Project sponsors Macquarie and S&amp;B financed the project with US$1.8bn in private activity bonds. When construction is complete, the project entity will maintain the bridges under a 35-year concession with PennDOT and will be compensated with availability payments calculated monthly.In 2014, PennDOT selected Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners to deliver its first bridges P3, which involved the design, accelerated construction, financing, maintenance and rehabilitation of 558 structurally deficient bridges across the state over a 28-year contract. The project was financed in 2015 with US$721.4m of PABs. PennDOT’s unsolicited proposal period applies to PennDOT-owned projects, infrastructure and services. The private sector can submit proposals to deliver transport projects including roads, bridges, rail, aviation and ports. Proposals can include more efficient models to manage existing transport-related services and programmes. The private sector may submit applications for non-PennDOT-owned assets directly to the P3 board during the timeframe. The state's P3 law enables PennDOT and other transport authorities and commissions to partner with private companies to deliver, maintain and finance transport-related projects. As part of the law, the seven-member public-private transport partnership board was appointed to examine and approve potential projects. If the board determines a state operation would be more cost-effectively administered by a private company, PennDOT will issue a request for proposals and launch a competitive procurement. </div></div>

ROAD

Three unsolicited mega project proposals have been submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Public-Private Transportation Partnership Board. Cintra proposed a $5bn managed lanes project near Pittsburgh, advancing to a detailed screening process. Other proposals include an airport connector road and a bridge replacement program. The Allegheny County Airport Authority proposed office facilities and an autonomous shuttle system at Pittsburgh International Airport. Updates on ongoing P3 projects were also provided, highlighting significant progress and cost savings.

PA receives managed lanes proposals