Analysis of the Route 3 North expansion project and the public-private partnership between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Modern Continental Corporation

Finite state budgets and the question of how to do more with less have strained the ability of state governments to continuously maintain and expand transportation infrastructure as demand increases exponentially by commuters for quality roadways. More state governments are turning to public-private partnerships and innovative financing measures to expedite transportation upgrades with smaller impacts on surrounding communities and commuters.; The Commonwealth of Massachusetts recently utilized a design-build method, financed under special legislation, to accelerate expansion of the chronically congested Route 3 North. Increased analysis of public-private partnerships and innovative financing measures is warranted to assess the long-term impact of these experiments as well as overall viability.; Although this project was heavily touted as the first attempt to utilize a public-private partnership in Massachusetts, results have shown that as the project progressed throughout the years, the Route 3 North expansion plan for a public-private partnership regressed to nothing more than a highway utilizing design-build to expedite the construction process rather than the common project delivery method of design-bid build.