Bertha remained berthed. Experts droned on about drones. Bridges sported cracks or got built fast. Dogged attempts to build high- or higher-speed rail around the nation started to make progress. A multiyear transportation funding bill at long last passed through Congress. And, fueled by the emerging millennials and the retiring baby boomers, developments oriented around transit, walking and biking are, well, booming.
Public-private partnerships and concessionaire contracts are finally maturing in the U.S., ranging from the East End Crossing in Louisville to a $2.8-billion purchase of Chicago’s Skyway Toll Road. Four teams are contending for a P3 transit project in Maryland, which would be the second of its kind after Denver’s Eagle P3 project, which is nearing completion.