Who's to Blame for the Sellout? by Henry Lamb

"The nation’s transportation experts have identified the top three priorities: a national freight network; urban congestion; and connecting new urban centers with the interstate system. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, meeting in national conference last month, heard futurists predict that the cost of meeting the transportation needs would be $3.1 trillion over the next 25 years. State and local governments are turning to 'public-private partnerships' (PPP) to produce the funding.

The City of Chicago was happy to partner with a Spanish-Australian group that paid $1.83 billion for a 99-year lease to operate the Chicago Skyway. The same outfit paid Indiana $3.85 billion to operate the Indiana Tollway for 75 years. The same Spanish company has partnered with a Texas firm to give the state of Texas $7.2 billion to build and operate the first leg of the Trans-Texas Corridor. And Pennsylvania’s Governor Rendell is expecting a bid of between $15- $18 billion for the Pennsylvania turnpike.

Most states have already enacted, or are considering, legislation to authorize this PPP financing of public infrastructure.

Public opposition to PPP financing encouraged the Texas legislature to adopt a two-year moratorium on the state’s PPP projects. The governor’s veto, however, along with threats from the U.S. Department of Transportation, forced the legislature to pass a watered-down compromise bill that blocks only future PPP projects, but allows the current Trans-Texas Corridor to go forward."

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