SPI Insights

Six governors explored public-private partnerships (P3) and other private opportunities to finance and maintain vital infrastructure during the National Governor’s Association (NGA) virtual summit last week.

Govs. Doug Ducey of Arizona, Steve Bullock of Montana, John Bel Edwards of Louisiana, Mark Gordon of Wyoming, and Ralph Northam of Virginia joined NGA chair and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan during the summit for his NGA Chair’s Initiative, Infrastructure: Foundation for Success.

Ducey headed a panel in which he touted successful P3s in Arizona such as the South Mountain Freeway project, which was completed three years early and $100 million under budget.

Northam pointed to several P3s in Virginia that contributed to improvements on interstates 66, 95, and 395 and rail projects including the American Legion Bridge.

Bullock and Gordon said government and the private sector need to look beyond traditional projects and methods and use a multi-state effort. Quite often, P3s are thought of only for road projects.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has reshaped state budget outlooks and project pipelines, underscoring the role of infrastructure investment in accelerating the nation’s economic recovery.

Governors from both parties are pushing for large-scale federal financing of traditional infrastructure systems that include not only roads, bridges, transit, and aviation, but also energy, water, broadband, and cybersecurity.

Infrastructure stabilization and investment will improve the country’s long-term economic outlook and support recovery from a pandemic recession by putting people back to work.