On Thursday, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced its Office of Public-Private Partnerships (P3) will be accepting unsolicited transportation project proposals.
Officials said the proposals would only apply to PennDOT-owned projects and infrastructure. The P3 offices said it was encouraging private sector entities to submit proposals offering new ways to deliver transportation projects for roads, bridges, rail, aviation and ports, among others. The proposals can also include more efficient ways to manage existing transportation-related services and programs, officials said.
In 2012, Gov. Tom Corbett signed the current P3 law, that allowed PennDOT and other agencies and commissions the opportunity to participate in collaborative efforts between the government and the private sector. P3 agreements are contracts between government entities and the private-sector to complete transportation projects, with the government entity transferring a combination of engineering, construction, operation, financing or maintenance duties to the private sector for a fixed period of time, the state said.
Since 2012, the state has used P3 projects to handle major infrastructure projects like the Major Bridge P3 Program in 2022. In that project, the P3 covered replacement or rehabilitation of nine major interstate bridges across the state. Originally the state had planned to make annual payment to pay for the work and financing using tolling. However, after the legislature changed tolling requirements, the P3 program allowed the department to move the bridge projects forward without tolling and pay for the projects through annual payments to the development entity over 35 years, using existing funds.
Officials said private sector entities should submit unsolicited proposals by 11:50 p.m. on Nov. 10.
As part of the P3 law, a seven-member Public Private Transportation Partnership Board examines and approves potential public-private transportation projects. If the board decides a state operation could be handled more cost-effectively by a private company, the company will be authorized to submit a proposal and enter into a P3 agreement with the state.
Officials said the next unsolicited proposal acceptance period will be in April 2024.