New Government Report Questions Highway Public-Private Partnerships
A new government report from the General Accounting Office (GAO) is questioning whether highway public-private partnerships at the state level are in the national interest. It calls for Congress to intervene with the Department of Transportation, which is promoting these partnerships, to develop objective criteria for identifying, measuring and protecting the national interest.

With the country “at a critical juncture in addressing the demands on its transportation system,” states and local governments are increasingly looking for alternatives to finance highway projects, including private sector participation.

The GAO report states, “There is no ‘free’ money in public-private partnerships and it is likely that tolls on a privately operated highway will increase to a greater extent than they would on a publicly operated toll road…Highway public-private partnerships are also potentially more costly to the public than traditional procurement methods, and the public sector gives up a measure of control, such as the ability to influence toll rates.”

“NATSO [the national association representing truck stops] agrees with the GAO’s warning that there is no ‘free money’ for highway infrastructure and that public-private partnerships may actually end up costing drivers more than the traditional funding mechanisms,” said Mindy Long, NATSO’s Vice President of Communications.

“Public-private partnerships by their very nature are designed to turn a profit for their investors, and everyone knows that the best way to make a profit is to increase revenue while reducing expenses. Increasing revenue will be done through implementing and increasing tolls. Tolls equal double taxation for both the traveling public and the commercial trucking industry. Not only are drivers paying for the roads twice – through the fuel tax and the toll plaza – they are not going to get the full benefit of the money they’re spending if the state uses those funds for non-road needs.

“NATSO strongly believes that Congress must take a leadership role in this debate on the privatization of highways, because our nation’s economy and mobility depends on a strong national network of roads and bridges. Allowing individual states to relinquish control of our nation’s highways to private interests is irresponsible public policy,” said Long.

The American Trucking Association (ATA) has also weighed in. ATA President and CEO, Bill Graves, said, "Schemes such as the privatization and tolling of existing highway infrastructure will result in Americans paying a significantly higher price to access our highway system while receiving less in the form of safe, efficient and reliable roadways."

According to an ATA news release, “The American Trucking Association opposes the lease or sale of existing toll roads, bridges or tunnels to private entities and has called on government to abandon these financing techniques. The trucking industry supports a toll-free national highway system where funds to finance highway improvement primarily come from fuel taxes. ATA believes privatization permits operators to increase tolls to prohibitive levels. Under such lease agreements, the public loses a degree of control over the road, and there are no guarantees that service and safety levels will be maintained.” 

---