A legal decision in Virginia with potential ripple effects on the ability of states across America to finance transportation improvements through public-private partnerships (P3s) will be a key focus of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) milestone 25th Annual P3 in Transportation Conference, scheduled July 24 to 26 at the Grand Hyatt in the Nation’s Capital.

At issue is a May 1 declaration by Virginia circuit court judge James A. Cales Jr. that the tolling provisions of the Elizabeth River Crossing project and others established under the Virginia Public-Private Transportation Act (PPTA), violate the state’s constitution. The ruling is significant because the Virginia PPTA tolling provisions are similar to those used in a number of other states and could provide a blueprint for opponents to challenge P3s nationally. A panel of experts will discuss the case and ARTBA will share the legal steps it is pursuing.

The ARTBA conference will bring together several hundred project owners and developers, and feature 18 informative and interactive sessions on these topics:

• P3 Owners’ Roundtable: Project Pipelines

• Tracking MAP-21 Improvements and 2014 Reauthorization Needs

• Constitutional Challenges to P3s and What They Mean for Project Development

• Operations and Maintenance Issues in Transportation Infrastructure

• P3s in Transit

• P3s in Ports & Waterways

• Design-Build vs. P3 — How States Make Procurement Choices

• Toll Risk v. Availability Payment

• Adopting Value for Money Analysis

New to this year’s agenda, ARTBA and the George Mason University School of Public Policy have teamed-up to offer research-based sessions, including: “Reaching Commercial Close for a P3;” “Canadian and U.S. P3s — A Comparative Discussion;” and “Recent State P3 Legislation.”

ARTBA also is celebrating the 25th anniversary conference with a special reception and awards dinner at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Guests will visit museum exhibitions, including the ARTBA Foundation-sponsored “America on the Move” transportation exhibit featuring a section of Historic Route 66, the 92-ft. long “1401” locomotive, a D.C. streetcar, historic automobiles and hundreds of other artifacts.

“America on the Move” is the museum’s largest exhibition and it allows visitors to travel back in time and experience transportation as it changed America.

For more information, call 202/289-4434 or visit www.artbap3.org.

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