A new interstate Mississippi River Bridge was recommended in government reports in 1980, 1985 and 1990. Formal location studies began in May 1992, with subsequent site selection and environmental impact assessments. In the fall of 2005, area legislators were able to secure federal funding to help finance the construction of a new bridge. Despite the significant federal commitment, there is still a large, unfunded cost of over $600 million that must be financed before the bridge can become a reality.
It appears that is will be very difficult for the governments of Illinois and Missouri to fund this bridge from existing sources. Several options to finance the funding gap are being considered. One option, public-private partnerships (PPP), is the subject of this document. There is ample evidence that the private sector, with its access to funds in the international capital markets, can be a good partner to both states to bring the new Mississippi River span, the centerpiece of the project, to construction and completion in a timely manner. The best way to accomplish this will be to call for investor proposals to finance, build and operate the bridge itself as a long-term toll concession. In addition, selecting PPP will free up funds for many other desperately needed projects in both states.
Our elected leaders deserve credit for having achieved a publicly accepted plan for the bridge and its approaches. Few contest the need for the project. The location of the crossing and its approaches has met with broad-based public approval. The design of the bridge and the approaches has undergone exhaustive discussion and refinement, in large part to help reduce the preliminary cost estimate. In short, we have consensus on the project.
Recent revisions to the bridge design have reduced the cost estimate from $1.6 billion to a current estimate of $910 million. The federal commitment to this project and required matching funds is $299 million, leaving a gap of $611 million.
Some officials believe they can obtain another $250 million as an earmark in the next six-year highway bill due to be enacted in 2009. However, the last highway bill, due in 2003, was not enacted until two years after its due date. A repeat performance could delay any decision until 2011. Moreover, federal earmarks have come under intense scrutiny and criticism; concurrently, the need for transportation dollars has dramatically increased, especially in light of our recent national disasters. The federal budget is stretched beyond the rate of growth of the economy. Our study of PPP is an investigation of one solution to fill the potential and real funding gap for this project.