Before 2020 and the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, public-private partnerships in the U.S. had evolved far beyond their one-of-a-kind transportation infrastructure origins, with agencies and institutions of all sizes applying the P3 delivery method to a variety of construction, operations and maintenance projects.
Now, faced with pandemic-related revenue shortfalls and the potential of even tighter budgets, could the use of P3s expand even further? Or will public agencies, saddled with lower revenues, not have the funds to hold up their end of such agreements?