[NTC2015-SU-R-04] Analysis of Funding Streams for Public Private Partnerships in the U.S. Transportation Sector

A key constraint in providing transportation infrastructure is the scarcity of resources. These resources have to be spent effectively to deliver the required number of high-quality transportation projects to the public. One way of leveraging public funds to deliver more projects is the use of PPP methods, which introduce additional private resources to supplement the often scarce public funds. However, funding characteristics and arrangements of past PPP projects have not been readily documented and analyzed. The objective of the proposed study is to perform a comprehensive analysis of the funding sources of all PPP projects in the U.S. transportation sector. The sources of public and private funding (i.e., grants, loans, bonds, private equity) for PPP transportation projects in the U.S. will be gathered. The study will determine the absolute and relative monetary contribution of private investment in PPP transportation projects.

The outcome of the proposed study is to quantify the funding sources of PPP transportation projects in the U.S. The study will provide empirical evidence for the funding streams of the PPP project delivery method, which can also be used as a U.S. benchmark for PPP transportation projects. Two products will be delivered to summarize the research process and findings: (1) First, a research report will be delivered to document the research methodology and results. (2) Second, a PowerPoint presentation will be delivered to assist in presenting the research results and implications. The research findings also will be presented at the TRB annual meeting.

An understanding of the private monetary investments in transportation allows us to quantify the potential of leveraging funds to deliver larger projects than traditionally possible. This can assist in arguments in favor of several surface transportation programs, some of which are set to expire, such as TIFIA and the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) as part of MAP-21. The proposed analysis of funding source arrangements can help build more understanding of the PPP method and determine its efficacy to leverage additional funding sources to support critical transportation projects in the U.S.