Infra Insight Blog : written by Nossaman LLP Infrastructure attorneys, covers infrastructure project delivery, including Public-Private Partnerships, Operations & Management Agreements, policy, and news.

Producing ground breaking advancements in transportation infrastructure is not without its challenges, highlighting the importance of celebrating each success. Today our client, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the organization’s Executive Director, Amadeo Saenz, are being recognized for their paradigm shifting approach to building roads.

The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) is holding their 22nd Annual Public Private Partnerships in Transportation Conference in the nation’s capital. In what is being called a sweep, TxDOT has been awarded “P3 Project of the Year” for both the North Tarrant Express and the LBJ-635 Express projects, and Amadeo Saenz has been awarded “Public Sector Entrepreneur of the Year.” Cintra’s U.S. President, Nicolas Rubio, was awarded “Private Sector Entrepreneur of the Year.”

A well-respected organization established in 1902, ARTBA is the oldest national transportation construction-related association and the first to articulate a need for a federally-built network of Interstate highways. For 21 years the organization has assembled leaders in the transportation industry at this annual conference to discuss key transportation issues, including the private financing of transportation infrastructure projects.

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Indicative of the progress and forward momentum of the project, the California High-Speed Rail Authority is hiring.  The executive management team is expanding as the project makes advancements such as the recent award of $2.25 billion in federal grants.  With newly appointed CEO Roelof Van Ark at the helm, the Authority is seeking a Regional Director for Southern California to add to the team.

As described in the full position dossier (PDF), “The Regional Director is responsible for ensuring the high-speed train project in Southern California continues forward on the planned schedule and budget by developing and maintaining relationships with local residents, policy makers and Authority consultants and by building strategies for communicating with local advocates to foster their continued involvement and support.”

The voter approved 800-mile-long high-speed train system will connect California’s major cities between San Diego, San Francisco, and Sacramento and it will be the first of its kind in the nation.

Interested parties should contact Stuart Satow of CPS Executive Search at 916.263.1401 or resumes@cps.ca.gov.

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Following extensive industry review of the draft Request for Proposals, on Friday, July 9, 2010, the California Department of Transportation, in coordination with the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, issued the final Request for Proposals for the Presidio Parkway Project. According to the latest procurement schedule in the Request for Proposals, technical proposals are due on September 10, 2010, and financial proposals are due on September 24, 2010.

The Presidio Parkway Project is the first public-private partnership procurement under California's new public-private partnership law, Section 143 of the Streets and Highways Code. For more about the Presidio Parkway Project and Section 143, see Presidio Parkway Reaches Two Important Milestones and Presidio Parkway Project RFQ Issued.

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On July 1 the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued two Notices of Funding Availability (NOFA) for high-speed and intercity passenger rail (HSIPR) development.

The NOFA for service development programs,  published at 75 Fed. Reg. 38,344 (PDF), outlines selection criteria and application procedures for $2.1 billion in FY 2010 HSIPR funds.  A second NOFA addressing $245 million available for individual construction projects within a corridor, was published at 75 Fed. Reg. 38,365 (PDF).

Applications pursuant to these NOFAs are due to FRA by August 6. Grant awards are expected to be announced by September 30.

The NOFAs both indicate that FRA is preparing draft guidance to establish a long-term framework for the HSIPR program. This forthcoming guidance does not apply to the $2.3 billion in FY 2010 HSIPR funding but is intended to provide further clarification about future project development processes (from planning and design through construction and operation), and technical assistance for successful project development and delivery. FRA has stated that outreach on proposed new guidance will begin this fall.

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