New Series: Innovation in Infrastructure
How private-sector expertise can deliver public-sector value
NEW YORK, NY – The Tappan Zee Bridge, a vital artery linking Rockland and Westchester Counties across New York’s Hudson River, was in urgent need of replacement in 2011, nearly six decades into its originally planned 50-year lifespan. Then-New York State Thruway Authority Chairman Howard Milstein, a successful private sector entrepreneur, oversaw a procurement process that ultimately delivered a new bridge on time and approximately $2 billion below initial estimates. How was this possible?
In a new Manhattan Institute issue brief, Milstein presents the Tappan Zee Bridge as a case study in modernizing infrastructure procurement. He offers private sector lessons for policymakers and procurement leaders on unlocking greater public value, such as design-build project delivery and incorporating bidders’ expertise throughout the bidding process.
With billions in infrastructure spending flowing over the next several years from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, much of this spending risks delivering poor value for public dollars, unless reforms can deliver greater efficiency and speed.
To address this challenge, the Manhattan Institute is launching The Milstein Innovation in Infrastructure Project, a series of papers and events that explore strategies to improve public infrastructure projects by leveraging private-sector practices and expertise. This series features contributions from scholars, policy experts, good-government reformers, and former infrastructure officials across federal, state, and local levels. They offer insights on how to improve efficiency, accountability, and funding mechanisms to deliver infrastructure that meets today’s needs.
The first installments in the series, two of which are published today, include:
- At a Crossroads: U.S. Transportation Faces a Challenging Route Ahead by Kirk Steudle, former Director, Michigan Department of Transportation (2006–2018) and Steven E. Polzin, Research Professor, Transportation, Arizona State University;
- Growing Sunbelt Cities Are the Future of Urban Life. They Need a Resilient Power Infrastructure by Michael Eric Wooten, former Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy; Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration; and
- We Don’t Need This Much Infrastructure: Diminishing Returns & Increasing Political Demands on Infrastructure by Judge Glock, director of research and senior fellow, Manhattan Institute; contributing editor, City Journal.
Click here to view the full Tappan Zee Bridge issue brief, and here to keep apprised of the other papers in this series.
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