Since the State Infrastucture Bank (SIB) Pilot Program was launched in 1996, steady progress has been made by States in advancing projects using the SIB financing mechanism. Operating within the limitations of State and Federal laws, States have been able to exercise a significant degree of latitude in the initiation and implementation of their programs, enabling the States to "customize" the focus of their SIB programs.

During the past five years, the SIBs have financed over 245 projects that have accomplished many of the original objectives of the pilot program, including project acceleration, economic development, and stimulation of private investment. Despite this success, states are at different levels in program implementation; some States have very active and mature programs and others have limited programs with moderate activity. In order to gauge how effectively the SIB pilot program is being implemented, the Federal-aid Financial Management Division of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), in partnership with FHWA Division Offices and State Department of Transportation offices (State DOT), performed a review of the SIB Pilot Program. This comprehensive review was conducted as a national financial management improvement project (FMIP), an element of FHWA's quality initiative.

This report documents the results of this review and is available on FHWA's Innovative Finance web site (www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovativefinance). FHWA hopes the results of this FMIP project will be of value in maximizing the benefits of the SIB financing mechanism and will contribute to long-term improvements in SIB operations.

This comprehensive review was completed in recognition of the current and potential role that SIBs have as a financial tool to help meet transportation infrastructure needs as well as the benefits of sharing program implementation information and best practices. The primary objectives of the SIB review were to:

Document program implementation practices

Identify the factors contributing to successful SIB programs

Determine barriers or obstacles to implementation

Highlight "best practices" in the operational/implementation aspects of the program

Address opportunities to maximize the SIB benefits

Recommend actions to enhance the effectiveness of the SIB program

In meeting these objectives, the project was intended to provide State DOTs with comprehensive information that could be used to enhance their SIB operations and achieve a higher level of benefits over time. The information may also be useful to States who currently are not participating in the SIB pilot program, but who may have an opportunity to establish a SIB in the future.