In a unanimous decision on Oct. 31, Virginia’s Supreme Court rejected all arguments by a circuit court judge in Portsmouth, Va. for stopping the Midtown Tunnel P3 project under construction there.

The opinion written by Justice Leroy F. Milette, Jr., lifts a cloud over an innovative solution for delivering a major piece of infrastructure in an economically strained region. It puts Virginia’s P3 program on firm legal footing to proceed with new P3 procurements. Neither candidate in the Nov. 5 election for governor has had much to say about VDOT’s P3 program, however, so the political component of future P3 projects is uncertain at this point.