The U.S 36 Express Lanes project received the Project of the Year, which honors a project that “demonstrates the value P3s bring to U.S. transportation development.”
It involved improvements to 16 miles of the highway between Denver and Boulder, including a managed lane in each direction for Bus Rapid Transit, High Occupancy Vehicles and tolled lanes, as well a reconstruction of all existing pavement, widening of the inside and outside shoulders to 12 feet, adding a separated commuter bike path, reconstructing or widening bridges and adding a diverging diamond interchange at the McCaslin bridge.
The project was delivered in two phases, with the first $318 million phase procured as a design-build contract and setting up the initial construction work. The second $130 million phase was procured as a P3/PPP. Plenary Roads Denver was the concessionaire that financed, designed, built, operated and maintained the Phase 2 construction work. It also took on Federal Highway Administration Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan obligations and operated and maintained Phase 1 of the project.
Purdue University President Mitch Daniels received the P3 Entrepreneur of the Year award, which is given to someone who “has made outstanding contributions to the forward progress of P3s in the U.S. transportation industry.”
Daniels was honored for his work while governor of Indiana in overseeing the procurement and agreement in 2006 for a 75-year lease on the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road that collected almost $4 billion. He also was involved in negotiating the $2.5 billion Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project that will add two bridges and highways connecting them.
He was also recognized for his work in helping set up the city of West Lafayette and Purdue University Joint Board that handles procurement and financing of the State Street Redevelopment Project. The project is designed to update a main thoroughfare that travels through the city and the university by promoting multimodal travel. ARTBA says it is the first U.S. availability payment P3 project procured by a university.
