VAP3 Staff Augmentation

Virginia Department of Transportation, Office of Public Private Partnerships (VAP3)

Between 2007 and 2016, Mercator provided on-call financial services staff augmentation to the Commonwealth of Virginia and helped to advance numerous surface transportation infrastructure projects. We provided strategic advice on a wide range of potential finance issues and policy decisions. Mercator contributed to the development of the $3.7 billion Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Express Lanes project as well as other elements of VDOT’s development of a network of high-occupancy toll lanes in the northern Virginia region.

Mercator’s work on Transform 66 Outside included preparing the detail-level project screening report that assessed the suitability and desirability of delivering the project as P3, conducting extensive financial feasibility analyses, overseeing the consultants that prepared the traffic and revenue studies and the economic benefit-cost analyses, and drafting the initial value for money analysis.

In addition to supporting VAP3 project development efforts, Mercator prepared and conducted workshops for VAP3 staff and made significant contributions to updating Virginia’s P3 Value for Money Guidelines. Mercator also developed a spreadsheet-based project screening model that allowed VAP3 staff to vary key assumptions to compare the economics of design-build, availability payment, and toll concession delivery and financing alternatives at various stages of screening and development.