Infra Insight Blog

The long-awaited Presidio Parkway opened for the first time to Bay Area motorists on July 12th, ahead of schedule and to local and national praises.

The $1.1 billion Presidio Parkway replaces Doyle Drive – an outdated and seismically deficient viaduct – as San Francisco’s main connection to the Golden Gate Bridge.  The new 1.6-mile, six-lane roadway tucks elegantly into the natural contours of the historic Presidio of San Francisco, and enhances transit, pedestrian and bicycle access within the national park area.  The Presidio Parkway has received numerous honors ...

Drivers in the U.S. are seeing the benefits of toll roads, according to a new report published by the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA).   The 2015 Report on Tolling in the United States (June 30, 2015), indicates that U.S. drivers took 5.7 billion trips last year on toll roads, reflecting a 14% increase over the last four years.  The construction of new toll roads is also on the rise and thus may be contributing to the steady increase in toll traffic.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, the number of toll road miles in the U.S. increased from about ...

Experience with innovative procurements indicates that holding one-on-one meetings with proposers is beneficial whenever selection is based on a best value evaluation of competitive proposals—whether the procurement contemplates selection based on initial proposals or whether selection will be made following discussions and receipt of revised proposals.  Some agencies are unaccustomed to holding confidential meetings with proposers and we are often asked for information about best practices for these meetings.  This blog discusses the benefits of such meetings and ...

On June 1, 2015, a California Court of Appeal held that in order for a lease-leaseback arrangement to be enforceable, the lease must be genuine, containing both a financing component and a lease term that extends beyond the construction period (Davis v. Fresno Unified School District, et al. (2015) __CalRptr.3d__ [2015 WL 3454720].)

Background

In 2012, the Fresno Unified School District (District) entered into a negotiated agreement utilizing the lease-leaseback project delivery method for the construction of improvements at a District middle school.  The District leased the ...

Identifying and allocating the risks associated with right-of-way acquisition in design-build projects was a hot topic for the standing-room only crowd at last week’s annual Education Conference of the International Right of Way Association in San Diego, California.  Nossaman litigation/eminent domain partner Artin Shaverdian hosted a panel on Design-Build Projects and Right of Way Acquisition: Benefits, Challenges and Pitfalls. Questions from the audience during the interactive session focused on the various approaches that agencies have taken to allocate ...

Houston residents enjoyed free rides on Saturday, May 23, 2015 as part of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO’s) opening of the Green (East End) and Purple (Southeast) light rail lines.  The two new lines are part of an approximately $1.22 Billion expansion of METRO’s existing light rail system which also includes a 5.3 mile extension to the Red (North) line that began service in December 2013.  With the addition of the two new lines, Houston’s light rail transit system increases from 12.5 miles to 23 miles.

Since the opening of the Red Line extension, from the ...

North Carolina, acting through the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), reached a major milestone on May 20, 2015 when financial close was achieved on the I-77 Express Lanes Project – the first highway public-private partnership in the state.  The project, with a design and construction cost estimated at approximately $591 million, will add 26 miles of tolled, express lanes along the existing I-77 corridor in the Charlotte region.  The financing package includes $100 million of private activity bonds and a $189 million TIFIA loan from the U.S. Department of ...

On May 15, 2015, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and Lane-Abrams Joint Venture  (DB Contractor) entered into a design-build contract (DBA) and associated comprehensive maintenance agreement (COMA) for the approximately $300 million SH 360 Project (the Project).

Pursuant to the DBA, DB Contractor will design and construct and potentially maintain approximately 9.7 miles of improvements to SH 360 consisting of two toll lanes in each direction from approximately Green Oaks Blvd/Kingswood Blvd to US 287, in addition to frontage road and intersection improvements.  ...

To help promote Infrastructure Week—which brings together thousands of stakeholders from around the country to highlight the critical importance of investing in and modernizing America’s infrastructure systems, and the essential role infrastructure plays in our economy—Nossaman is reposting this article on California’s infrastructure needs. To learn more about Infrastructure Week, which runs May 11-May 15, please visit www.infrastructureweek.org or follow Infrastructure Week on Twitter @RebuildRenew.

California is the most populous state in the Country; ...

As part of Infrastructure Week, 2015, several interested organizations banded together for an afternoon meeting on Monday, May 11, that focused on public-private partnerships as a way out of the infrastructure crunch.  Projects, big and small, stand to benefit from engaging the private sector to solve an array of infrastructure challenges.  The event was hosted by the Pew Charitable Trusts, and moderated by Cleveland City Councilman Matt Zone, who is also the 2^nd Vice President of National League of Cities (NLC).  Art Smith, President of the National Council for Public-Private ...