The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette concluded a four-part report discussing P3s in Pennsylvania and across the country Wednesday with in-depth coverage of Pennsylvania’s current P3 projects and an examination of the common anxieties governments and the public have about P3s.
Part three of the paper’s series describes PennDOT’s rapid bridge replacement program, efforts to implement P3s along Pennsylvania waterways, and details on the state’s P3 law.
The rapid bridge replacement program will allow a single company to take on hundreds of bridge replacements across the state, streamlining much of the design and manufacturing processes to save taxpayer money.
Pennsylvania’s recently passed P3 law allows the state’s Public Private Transportation Partnership Board to oversee the projects and allows the legislature to veto some projects involving state-owned facilities. The effort Pennsylvania put into its P3 law is evident, Steve Park, an attorney for Ballard Spahr in Philadelphia, told the Post-Gazette.
“It allows for flexibility for PennDOT, but there’s also a good measure of safeguarding to protect the public interest,” Park said.
In the conclusion to the four-part series, the Post-Gazette argues P3s are poor policy, fraught with hazard for governments ill-equipped to oversee complex P3 contracts. Further, businesses looking to partner with the government often overestimate the profit stream P3s will generate, leading to financial difficulty after project completion.
The story cites academic research, government officials, lawyers and public advocates all roundly dismissing P3s as an acceptable option for state governments.
Aug. 10: The ‘P3’ dilemma: How effective are public-private partnerships
Aug. 11: The ‘P3’ dilemma: Partnerships often fall short of taxpayers’ expectations
Aug 12: The ‘P3’ dilemma: Pennsylvania is moving ahead with P3 plans
Aug. 13 The ‘P3’ dilemma: States learn partnerships come with hazards
NCPPP
By Editor August 14, 2014