An additional lock on the St. Mary's River in northern Michigan is included. Source: USACE Detroit

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) selected four projects for further development and validation through its Civil Works Public-Private Partnership (P3) Pilot Program.

The four projects include a harbor channel improvement and coastal storm risk management project in Texas, a river ecosystem restoration in California and a new lock for ships navigating the Upper Great Lakes.

The four candidates were selected from a set of eight proposals submitted in response to a February 2019 request for information. USACE said the pilot candidates will be further developed and validated to determine their potential to become P3 pilot projects.

The pilot program aims to demonstrate the viability of new methods that can reduce the cost and time of project delivery. The program is part of the Revolutionize USACE Civil Works initiative.

A P3 generally refers to a long-term contractual relationship between a public-sector contracting authority and a private-sector entity. It covers the financing and delivery of public infrastructure and the provision of public services. USACE said that a P3 can be done as any combination of design, build, finance, operate or maintain.

The four projects include the following.

Brazos Island Harbor channel improvement project, Texas

With a price tag of $288 million, the project would deepen the Port of Brownsville ship channel from 42 ft to 52 ft, in addition to dredging berthing areas, constructing dredged material placement area capacity, raising levees and providing aids to navigation. The Brownsville Navigation District, acting as the financial representative for the Port of Brownsville, is the project sponsor and the P3 would include design, build, finance and possibly operate and maintain. The project could save an estimated $150 million compared with traditional USACE practice and could be completed by 2024.

Los Angeles River P3 pilot concept, California

This is a $1.4 billion ecosystem restoration project on the Los Angeles River, which includes water quality and recreation features. The proposal identified three separate elements spanning 11 miles from the northern edge of Griffith Park to downtown Los Angeles. The city is the sponsoring agency and P3 elements include design, build, finance and operate and maintain. The project could reduce the cost by around one-third compared with traditional USACE practice, and deliver completed elements as much as 10 to 20 years earlier.

New Soo Lock construction, Michigan

The $922 million project would construct a second lock at the St. Mary’s River at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The Soo Locks are currently in place and serve an important role in the Great Lakes Navigation System. The Michigan Department of Transportation is the sponsoring agency and P3 elements include design, build, finance and possibly operations and maintenance. No details were provided on potential cost or time savings.

Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay coastal storm risk management project, Texas:

The $3.9 billion project would reduce the coastal storm and flood risk to this area of coastal Texas. The project has full federal funding due to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. The non-federal sponsors are proposing innovative ways to capture revenue for their portion of the project costs. Those sponsors include the Texas General Land Office, the Velasco Drainage District, the Jefferson County Drainage District 7 and Orange County. P3 elements include design-build and traditional design-bid-build. The USACE Galveston District estimates completion in seven years, compared with 11 years due to the existence of full federal funding upfront. In addition, the P3 would reduce risk of failure to pay the non-federal cost share.