The public-private-partnership model for public infrastructure and services, long centered on toll roads, is expanding.

An article in Bond Buyer magazine discusses the growing trend of public entities using private capital and management to develop or oversee public functions – reaching well beyond the time-tested toll roads with which the model is most widely associated.

From the article:

As governments expand their use of P3s, they’re also expanding their expertise on them. State and local governments are increasingly hiring pools of preapproved advisors who can consult with public officials when a proposal for a P3 comes their way. In New Jersey, a new law gives state agencies, school districts, local governments and universities access to the pool of experts, which is selected and run by the state treasury department.

The article also makes prominent mention of Maryland’s current effort to use toll lanes, with private partnerships, to address major highway congestion.

Read the full article online (Bond Buyer allows limited viewings without a subscription).