Alternative delivery methods offer valuable options

Since the late 1980s, a number of public sector entities across the country have been using a variety of alternative project delivery methods designed to accelerate infrastructure projects, decrease project costs, and leverage private equity, while maintaining or improving project quality. Two methods with proven success that should be considered in New York State are design-build and Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). New York Needs Design-Build In contrast to the traditional design-bid-build system, the design-build method can offer a number of advantages: time, cost, collaboration of design and construction team, better risk and accountability, and flexibility. With the inflationary cost of materials, bringing a product on line faster can generate significant cost savings. It can also mean that jobs associated with the finished product come on line sooner and users of the end product can achieve their economies more quickly. In the past 20-plus years, the Design-build method has risen from 10% of non-residential construction to 50%, and is widely used by the private sector and many public sector entities, including the armed services. Without Design-build legislation in place, the State of New York has been unable to leverage this trend in any appreciable way. The few design-build projects completed in the State, which were permitted by special dispensation or performed by entities outside of the agencies governed by state law, have been successful. The Belt Parkway Bridge, a special design-build project, was completed four weeks ahead of schedule. The JFK AirTrain, a design-build-operate-maintain award, came in under budget by $100 million. Benefits of Public Private Partnerships With multinational pension funds and other investors looking for safe, large-scale investment, Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) offer New York many opportunities to develop new infrastructure projects with limited public dollars. Recent stories of infrastructure leases, such as the Chicago Skyway and the Indiana Toll road, demonstrate the advantages of PPPs. Private investment often brings creativity to the table. Hong Kong, for example, finances subway stations and the lines that serve them by selling property rights around the proposed station, which will now have added value for retail, commercial and residential development. User fees, and the risk associated with the setting of rates, collection and actual use, fall to the private concessionaire. An innovative proposal for New York State is the tunnel linking the Bronx to Long Island - fully paid for by private funds and with the investment recouped through tolls - which would enhance mobility and create new opportunities in our region. By expanding our capabilities to maintain and improve New York's infrastructure assets - transportation, water/sewer, energy, facilities - we can help keep the state economically competitive and provide its residents with a satisfactory quality of life.