The Sacramento Bee publishes an op-ed by Bruce Blanning, executive director of Professional Engineers in California Government, who takes on P3 projects, arguing that, “In the real world, they lead to excessive costs, bankruptcies and taxpayer bailouts. Route 125 in San Diego, for example, was backed by private money when it went over budget. It went bankrupt and defaulted on a loan from taxpayers who had to pay $352 million to buy out the private consortium. Taxpayers also bought out the Route 91 toll road project in Los Angeles after the contractor blocked efforts to relieve freeway congestion so that the toll lanes could rake in extra profits.”
