More than 200 public and private sector transportation executives came together in Washington, D.C., October 10-12, for the American Road & Transportation Builder Association’s (ARTBA) 24th Annual Public-Private Partnerships (P3) Conference, the nation’s leading summit on innovative transportation finance.
Attendees heard from nearly a dozen top officials at state departments of transportation (DOT) who presented updates on their P3 programs, including California, Virginia, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Arizona, and the District of Columbia.
Keynote speaker Phil Wilson, executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, kicked off the event with an update on his state’s vast P3 program and notices about the upcoming opening of several facilities. Chris Bertram, U.S. DOT assistant secretary for budget and programs, provided a briefing on the future of the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, including how the department is implementing historic policy and funding changes under the new surface transportation law, MAP-21.
Two individuals and one public transportation agency were also recognized during the conference’s “P3 Awards Breakfast” for their outstanding contributions to the advancement of P3s.
Tony Kinn, director of the Virginia Office of Transportation P3s, was honored as the “Public Sector Entrepreneur of the Year” for his work in managing one of the largest P3 programs in the country. Geoff Yarema, partner at Nossaman LLP, was honored, for the second time in his career as ARTBA's “Private Sector Entrepreneur of the Year” for his extensive work leading up to MAP-21 and his continued advocacy for P3s at the federal and state level. Rick Land, chief deputy director of Caltrans, accepted the “P3 Project of the Year” award on behalf of the department for the Presidio Parkway P3 in San Francisco.
