In order to provide the state DOTs greater flexibility in addressing these and other types of funding challenges, FHWA and USDOT coordinated with Congressional leadership to focus on creating options to remove unintended barriers and transform the Federal role with respect to transportation finance. Though the standard federal grant plus non-federal match still remains as part of the funding plan even for complex projects delivered under the P3 model, there have been a host of initiatives and tools developed that serve to augment, leverage, optimize and accelerate the use of available federal aid funds.
A series of administrative initiatives and legislative acts beginning in the early nineties laid the foundation for Federal tools and processes that provided increased flexibility to state agencies and encouraged private sector participation in the funding and delivery of highway projects. As noted earlier, ISTEA initially authorized new concepts designed to increase transportation investment. Outlined below are some of the key initiatives that have contributed directly or indirectly to the funding packages for the P3 projects covered in this report.