The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced Thursday that it would be accepting unsolicited public-private partnership proposals for transportation projects through Nov. 10.
PennDOT’s Office of Public-Private Partnerships (P3) said it was looking for proposals regarding PennDOT-owned projects and infrastructure that would offer new ways to deliver those projects across a number of modes including roads, bridges, rail, aviation and ports. PennDOT said it would also accept proposals on how to more efficiently manage existing transportation-related services and programs.
The P3 office said members of the private sector could also submit applications for non-PennDOT-owned assets during the application period as well. Transportation entities like transit authorities that are outside of the governor’s jurisdiction and set their own timelines, or may accept proposals year-round, the P3 office said.
For the P3 proposals, applications will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. Nov. 10. More information about the submission process and who the information in the proposals will be reviewed is on the P3 office’s website, officials said. The next unsolicited proposal acceptance period will take place in April 2024.
The state has used its P3 law for several major infrastructure projects since being signed into law in 2012 by Gov. Tom Corbett. In 2014, the $899 million Rapid Bridge Replacement Project used a public-private partnership to repair 558 state-owned bridges that had fallen into poor condition. Other P3 projects include the building of compressed natural gas fueling stations for public-transit buses and the Major Bridge P3 Program.