Economist Armand J. Thieblot's study examines a potential WilsonBridge PLA according to five criteria issued by the U.S. Departmentof Transportation in 1997. The study says that a Wilson Bridge PLAis inadvisable by all five guidelines.

"This study shows that placing a union-only PLA on the WilsonBridge will balloon costs for local taxpayers while substitutingworkers from outside our area for highly qualified workers from ourregion," says coalition chairman John McMahon, chairman of theCoalition for Open Competition on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. "Thestudy was based on criteria developed by the Clintonadministration, which has been supportive of union-only PLAs. Itshows that a Wilson Bridge PLA would fail to satisfy any of thoseguidelines."

According to the study, the project union-only PLA fails DOT'scriteria: ·It would likely increase the project cost in theneighborhood of $150 million.·It would increase the probabilitythat contractors would have trouble finding suitable constructionpersonnel and would have to import workers from outside thearea.·There has been no documentation of any labor problems in thisregion, which would be remedied by a PLA.·PLAs have proven unableto prevent strikes or disruptions or to guarantee labor peace.