The Michigan Department of Transportation reported this week that its effort to gauge interest by the private sector in forming public private partnerships (P3s) on several projects has produced 31 responses.

The proposals included 12 "letters of interest" for proposed bridge work, 12 for freeway lighting projects, two for timber management, and five for two US-127 rest areas.

MDOT reported that the letters of interest for the bridge projects seemed more interested in larger contracts ranging from $100 million to $600 million, with typical timeframes between 30 and 40 years.

Initial proposed P3 projects include two rest areas, freeway lighting, bridge work and timber management.

Two alternatives are being considered for bridge P3 projects. They are:

1. Replacing the I-75 bridge decks over Fort Street and the Rouge River in Detroit.
2. Reconstructing bridges in four highway corridors: I-94, from I-96 to Conner Avenue in Detroit; I-75, from M-102 to M-59 in Oakland County; I-94, from Elm Road to US-127 in Jackson County; and I-94, from Euclid Avenue to US-31 in Berrien County.

Companies that showed interest in the bridge projects are the following:

• AECOM
• Acciona Concessions Canada, Inc
• ACS Infrastructure Development
• DBi Services
• Fengate Capital Management
• Kiewit Infrastructure Group
• Lane Construction Corporation
• Meridiam Infrastructure North America Corp
• Parsons
• TRADECO Infraestructura S.A. de C.V.
• Vinci Concessions
• Walsh Construction