Details:

Creators:
Smith, Scott M.
Subject/TRT Terms:
[+]
Financing Funding Highway Facilities Lake Of The Ozarks Community Bridge Legislation Missouri Privatization Public Private Partnerships Toll Bridges Toll Projects Transportation Systems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21949/1403477
Resource Type:
Proceedings
Geographical Coverage:
Missouri;United States
TRIS Online Accession Number:
00778500
NTL Classification:
NTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION;NTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-Bridges and Structures;NTL-ECONOMICS AND FINANCE-Funding;
Abstract:
From the 1930's through the 1960's, most of the toll-financed transportation

facilities in the U.S. were large, statewide initiatives, such as the New Jersey,

Massachusetts, and Kansas Turnpikes. When the toll movement was reborn in the

form of innovative financing in the late 1980's and early 1990's many of the

proposed projects were mega-projects, such as the Orange county Tollroads and

Denver's E-470. From the mid-1990's into the 21st century, a new type of toll

project has emerged - the relatively small, regional project which integrates

the strengths of private and public financing to meet community

and regional transportation needs. The Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge, in

the State of Missouri, is a successful prototype of this new grassroots public/

private toll project.

Construction of the 2,695-foot (821 m), $18.2 million toll bridge began in March,

1996. Opened in May, 1998, the bridge connects the east and west sides of the

Lake of the Ozarks, a popular recreation and resort attraction in central

Missouri. The bridge is owned and operated by a private, not-for-profit

corporation -- the Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge Corporation (LOCBC). The

project was financed through the sale of $40.1 million in tax-exempt, toll

revenue bonds by the LOCBC.

The LOCBC was Missouri's first transportation corporation, formed under the 1990

Missouri Transportation Corporation Act, which authorized the formation of

non-profit corporations to develop and advance transportation projects. The

bridge project is a joint effort of the LOCBC and the Missouri Department of

Transporation, which funded and constructed the $5.5 million approach roadways

to the bridge and provided technical assistance to the LOCBC for the bridge

project.

For these grassroots projects to be successful, they must address a public

need, be driven by private-sector opportunity, be authorized by

enabling legislation, represent a viable project concept, and be

implemented through a public/private partnership. The Lake of the Ozarks

Bridge project will be described through each of these factors, and lessons

learned which apply to other project opportunities will be discussed.

The author believes that, although such projects may not represent the leading

edge of transporation privatization, these small to mid-size projects are more

within the "institutional comfort zone" of state DOT's, regulators, designers,

contractors, and investors. Therefore, they are more implementable and may

offer more real opportunities to improve our transportation systems.


Format:
PDF
Collection(s):
US Transportation Collection
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:8990193db8511ef9554ebfc4c2838557f684c6e10364944871a20f5729a05f81
Download URL:
https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/12891/dot_12891_DS1.pdf
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