Evaluation of public private partnerships in highways

This paper reviews and evaluates four U.S. P3 toll highways, identifying their performance and common challenges. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that federal and state governments should fund highways, this paper argues that users should bear the cost for both efficiency and equity considerations. The shift from government investment and operation of highways to Public-Private Partnerships (P3) was driven by the lack of public funding, more productive competitive business practices, and the government's desire for upfront payments to fund other unrelated public projects. However, these justifiable public benefits were accompanied by significant problems. Highways were often leased for 35 to 75 years, depending on the total equity and loans of the private partner and various risk factors.