WASHINGTON — State and city leaders struggling to advance large-scale infrastructure projects should look to private capital for assistance, a transportation expert with the Bipartisan Policy Center told the country’s largest gathering of mayors on Jan. 18.
“There’s a lot of money, private-sector money, that could be brought to bear to help U.S. infrastructure projects move forward faster,” Sarah Kline, a fellow at the center, said at the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting.
“We need to be a lot more intentional in this country about how we develop, design and deliver our infrastructure,” Kline added. “Obviously, there’s a huge need right now for additional maintenance and repair, as well as expansion of all of our infrastructure networks.”
While advancing public-private partnerships, or P3s, has typically meant erecting tolling facilities, Kline said that does not always have to be the case. As an example, she cited for the mayors a new tunnel at the Port of Miami where private-sector dollars and public agencies backed a toll-free project.
Kline outlined her proposal last year in a report titled, “Bridging the Gap Together: A New Model to Modernize U.S. Infrastructure.”
Mayors representing megaregions and smaller rural towns have expressed concerns over how to fund infrastructure modernization projects. At their annual meeting, the conference’s leadership called on President-elect Trump’s incoming administration to help secure increases in infrastructure funding.
According to The Washington Post, a new poll conducted by the newspaper with ABC News found that 66% of people surveyed expressed opposition to an infrastructure plan anchored on providing $140 billion in tax credits to investors who would likely add tolls to transportation projects.
