A ground-breaking public-private partnership will be discussed in the first in a series of webinars to be held by a new institute that seeks to educate state agencies on how to obtain financing for transportation projects.
The Build America Transportation Investment Center (BATIC) Institute, launched by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), is designed to serve as an education and training component of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s BATIC.
The inaugural webinar will focus on the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Rapid Bridge Replacement Program, which will replace 558 structurally deficient bridges throughout the state. The webinar will be held Nov. 2 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.
The BATIC Institute will offer a variety of tools and resources to help state transportation departments and local partners understand the types of project financing tools that are available, such as bonds and federal credit assistance, and how to create an environment in which to forge solid partnerships with “project delivery stakeholders,” according to AASHTO’s Oct. 14 press release. State agencies and localities also can learn how to assess projects to determine their suitability to be conducted as P3s and how to pursue these types of projects, the institute said on its website.
BATIC Executive Director Andrew Right recently acknowledged the center’s plan to collaborate with AASHTO in improving the public sector’s ability to use new and existing tools and resources to finance infrastructure projects. In addition to its webinar series, the institute will hold in-person seminars, peer-exchange gatherings and workshops and provide e-learning opportunities and a website resource for practitioners.
“With this specialized website, online training and peer-to-peer exchanges, the institute will deliver the types of services and information our state departments of transportation need to examine all of their options,” said BATIC Institute Director Jennifer Brickett.
To sign up for the webinar, visit the registration webpage. Visitors to the site also can sign up to receive email notifications about new service offerings and events and take a short survey to help the institute design future services.