The cancellation this month of the ARTI project by Los Angeles Metro highlights the difficulty self-help counties in California are having in structuring regional P3 projects that aim to improve service on the state’s capital-starved highway network.

Caltrans, a P3 agnostic, now requires that the public and private developers who want to build tolled express lanes on its road system must agree to pay for O&M not only on their new managed lanes but also on the state’s general purpose lanes in the same corridor. That will make most P3 projects a lot harder. LA Metro’s Accelerated Regional Transportation Improvements (ARTI) project P3 included express lanes on I-5 which is owned by Caltrans.