Patrick: Public-private partnerships on dwindling to-do list
Before he leaves office in January, Gov. Deval Patrick hopes to get the state's feet wet with some public-private partnerships to fund transportation projects.
Before he leaves office in January, Gov. Deval Patrick hopes to get the state's feet wet with some public-private partnerships to fund transportation projects.
"The resources we have to pay for these improvements are limited, and that requires us to think creatively about how we deliver the projects people want responsibly. And public-private partnerships are one of these creative solutions," Patrick told a roomful of opportunity-seeking private sector officials gathered in the Transportation Building on Wednesday.
As Transportation Board Senior Counsel Owen Kane walked executives through the legal framework for public-private partnerships in Massachusetts, easels displayed two potential opportunities: express toll lanes on Route 3 south of Boston, and a third bridge for motorists across the Cape Cod Canal.
One schematic for the new bridge to Cape Cod showed a route that veered off from Route 28, crossed the canal between the Sagamore and Bourne bridges, which were both built in 1935, and linked up with Route 6. Another schematic showed an option for a "twin" bridge alongside the Sagamore.
The Route 3 plan would add lanes to deal with rush hour traffic, creating "managed" or "express" toll lanes with either dynamic pricing that corresponds to traffic or fixed tolls depending on the time of day.
Launching a public-private partnership in the remaining two and a half months of the Patrick administration would cap what has been an emphasis on advancing transportation projects and disputes over how to fund them.
In his second term, Patrick made a big push for new revenues to fund transportation, and the Legislature delivered a $500 million tax law over the governor's veto as Patrick said it did not do enough. Soon after its enactment, the Legislature repealed a key aspect of the law that taxed certain computer services, which was estimated to have generated $160 million.
Transportation Secretary Richard Davey plans to leave two months early, and on Wednesday Patrick told executives gathered at the state Transportation Building that he wanted to give public-private partnerships a try in that remaining window of time.
"One of the things we'd like to try to do before Rich and I leave office at the end of this year is to launch a couple of projects to practice, to get used to PPP here in the Commonwealth, and get folks comfortable with their potential, with their efficiency, with the opportunity," said Patrick, who said there is "much, much more experience and comfort" with such partnerships overseas.
Writing in Commonwealth Magazine recently, former Transportation Secretary James Aloisi highlighted "smart" public-private partnerships as a way to support transportation along with a carbon assessment on non-residential parking and a fee for vehicle-miles traveled.
Joseph Aiello, an executive at international asset manager Meridiam, said partnerships involve regular payments from the state in exchange for the private entity bearing responsibility for construction and maintenance of infrastructure. The private entities can also take over tolls as part of an arrangement, Aiello said.
Aiello added that dynamic "gives the government huge leverage over private-sector performance," and clarifies that the private company is responsible for providing a well-built project and maintaining it as needed. He said, "You don't want to be chasing a contractor who's been off the job for five years."
Meridiam maintains roads on the Isle of Wight, completed the Port of Miami Tunnel in August, and has highway projects around Dallas, Texas. Aiello said the leadership in Massachusetts has been encouraging for businesses looking to partner with the state.
"The more attractive it appears, the more people are going to form teams to compete, the more competition you get, the lower the cost is going to be at the end of the day," Aiello said. He said, "You can fit it into almost any project. Any time there's an opportunity to design, build, operate and maintain something as a bundle, you have an opportunity as a public-private partnership."
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