Six decades into its 50-year planned life and carrying nearly 140,000 vehicles per day, by 2011, the Tappan Zee Bridge urgently needed replacing. Thanks to an innovative design-build procurement process led by then-New York State Thruway Authority Chairman Howard Milstein, the Tappan Zee was rebuilt from 2013 to 2018. The results: a state-of-the-art cantilever bridge delivered $2 billion below initial estimates, months ahead of schedule, and with a 100-year warranty for the work. Private-sector know-how delivered public-sector value.

Continuing this legacy of success, scholars and infrastructure officials from federal, state, and local levels will publish and discuss a series of Manhattan Institute papers exploring ways to improve public infrastructure projects by utilizing practices and innovations from the private sector.

Please join us for an in-depth presentation about the lessons the Tappan Zee Bridge holds for American infrastructure ingenuity. Authors will present new Manhattan Institute papers, and discussions will focus on improving efficiency and accountability in public contracting, better funding mechanisms for public-sector projects, and building the right amount of infrastructure to meet the nation’s needs today.

AGENDA:

1:00 PM – Check-in and Lunch Provided

 1:30 PM – Keynote: Building on the Success of the Tappan Zee Bridge
Howard Milstein, Chair, Milstein Companies
John Ketcham, Director of Cities Policy and Legal Fellow, Manhattan Institute (moderator)

 2:45 PM – Presentations
#1: Steven Polzin & Kirk Steudle (New Funding Mechanisms for Public Infrastructure)
 #2: Michael Eric Wooten ("Frictionless Acquisition" in Public Infrastructure)
 #3: Judge Glock (Diminishing Returns & Increasing Political Demands on Infrastructure)

 3:45 PM – Break 

 4:00 PM – Discussion: Delivering Better Public Value for Infrastructure Dollars
Steven Polzin, Research Professor, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University
Kirk Steudle, National Transportation Advisor, Steudle Executive Group
Michael Eric Wooten, Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration
Judge Glock, Director of Research and Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute (moderator)

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