Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell's transportation plan includes speculative components that may - or may not - build highways in Virginia. But the Republican does promise to emphasize one existing program that has worked well for the state in the past. The Public-Private Transportation Act has been instrumental in the construction of highways in Northern Virginia, Richmond and the Southwest. Projects now under way include the addition of high-occupancy toll lanes to the Capital Beltway and a new transit line to Dulles International Airport. Join discussion...

For years, Australia's biggest investment bank has been raising billions for airports, tunnels and toll roads throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Now the Sydney-based bank Macquarie Group Ltd. is seeking to help finance construction of a new Midtown Tunnel, upgrade the Downtown Tunnel between Norfolk and Portsmouth and extend the Martin Luther King Freeway. Join discussion...

An outspoken Democrat and former Republican governor of Virginia are advocating a public-private approach to paying for costly school renovations and say they already have financial commitments for what would be Virginia’s largest local school modernization program. Join discussion...

A month after it received an unsolicited proposal to expand the congested Dominion Boulevard corridor, the city of Chesapeake, Virginia rejected the offer yesterday. (See September 1, 2009 report.) Join discussion...

It’s no secret Virginia has an economic gem on its Eastern Seaboard. Blessed with a naturally deep harbor, the Port of Virginia has emerged as one of the leading ports on the East Coast. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that private businesses took notice of one of Virginia’s most lucrative assets. Privatization of Virginia’s port operations has been brought up before. But this year the issue moved to the forefront after Illinois-based CenterPoint Properties Trust made an unsolicited $3.5 billion offer in March. Since then, two other bidders have come calling: The Carlyle Group and a partnership involving Carrix Inc. and Goldman Sachs. Join discussion...

The privately-financed replacement for Chesapeake’s 1928 Jordan Bridge, which was closed last year due to safety concerns, is moving forward again. Yesterday the Virginia Marine Resources Commission unanimously approved the new structure, which is strongly supported by local businesses and legislators, as well as the state’s governor and secretary of transportation Join discussion...

Virginia DOT says the I-95/395 HOT Lanes concession project will not go to financial close this month as planned because of difficult capital market conditions and the need for more analysis and negotiation of project details. The postponement is officially announced in a 2-page letter from VDOT chief engineer Malcolm Kerley to officials in northern Virginia. Join discussion...

RICHMOND—One of the three companies jockeying to be the one selected by the state to build a limited access toll road from Petersburg to Suffolk has dropped out of the procurement process of the project. Itinere Infrastructure, a Spanish company based in Madrid, has withdrawn from the procurement process for the U.S. Route 460 Improvements Project, a plan to construct a 55-mile, four-lane divided highway from Interstate 295 in Prince George County to the U.S. Route 58 bypass in Suffolk. Join discussion...

In what could be the largest public-to-private partnership transaction to occur so far in the U.S., CenterPoint Properties announced on Thursday an estimated $8.9 billion proposal to privatize the Port of Virginia. Join discussion...

The Newport News Daily Press reported Wednesday that CenterPoint Properties, which said last summer that it planned to invest $350 million in a 900-acre intermodal distribution center in nearby Suffolk, Va., was preparing to submit a formal offer this week. Several Hampton Roads maritime officials confirmed the report. Join discussion...