BATON ROUGE – The Department of Transportation and Development announced that a Request of Information has been issued to accelerate enhancements to the I-10 Capital Corridor through a Public-Private Partnership.

A Public-Private Partnership (P3) consists of a private investor providing the necessary capital for construction in exchange for long-term financial contributions from a public entity. Officials say that this is the first time the state has officially considered pursuing alternative financing for transportation, as current funding limits the state's ability to dedicate revenue to critical projects.

"This is a first step in positioning the State to leverage private sector resources in delivering major enhancements to the I-10 Capital Corridor," Governor Edwards said. 

Last year, Governor Edwards created a task force to study and recommend how to solve the state's transportation issues. In December, the task force made funding and policy recommendations, including that P3's should be used for accelerated delivery of state projects.

"This innovative financing method has worked in other states that have invested in infrastructure," DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson said. "We want this to be successful and we want to responsibly expand innovative financing and delivery of projects all over Louisiana."

The Request of Information, is open for response by interested parties from Jan. 30 to Mar. 31. The state, however is not obligated to enter into a P3 due to issuance of the RFI, officials say. 

The RFI, which provides the potential work and details of the information requested, can be accessed here.