Private Sector Partnerships for Transportation Infrastructure Maintenance

Facing aging transportation infrastructure, costly road repairs, and budget constraints, states have begun looking for help from the private sector. Indiana is one of the best examples. In the Hoosier state, Governor Mitch Daniels leased the Indiana Toll Road to a private consortium for nearly 4 billion dollars, turning a budget deficit into a budget surplus, and providing needed transportation improvements in the process. The group leasing the toll road collects the tolls and they are limited in how much tolls can be raised. The private investors must also meet certain requirements and stipulations in managing and repairing the road, or the road goes back to being administered by Indiana, and the state gets to keep the money.

Private sector partnerships like Indiana's are examined in this Opinion Journal column from August 5.