Some 52 miles of new toll lanes will be built between Denver and Fort Collins in the US state of Colorado as part of US$1.6bn project to improve a 61-mile corridor of the I-25 expressway.
More than US$500m is being provided by US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Build America Bureau as a low-interest Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan to the Colorado Transportation Investment Office (CTIO) on behalf of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).
As well as 52 miles of new express lanes, the expansion includes park-and-ride and mobility hubs at the Kendal Parkway and Colorado 56 interchange, and reconstruction of 13 bridges, six interchanges and rail crossings.
According to USDOT, benefits of the project will include improved travel times; construction of new mobility hubs designed to encourage a modal shift to transit, carpooling; bicycle/pedestrian travel; capacity for future travel demand; and free travel for transit users and carpoolers in the express lanes.
The I-25 North Corridor is regarded as a top priority for the state, with US$4.6bn of investments to be implemented through 2060. The US$501m TIFIA loan is intended to help accelerate the delivery of key segments and phases of the overall project by 2028.
The CTIO estimates that the ability to leverage US$501m through the TIFIA programme will accelerate construction by nearly a decade and avert more than US$250m in project delay costs.
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“This loan offers the project sponsors a cost-efficient option to build the improvements and realise benefits now using existing and future toll revenue,” said Build America Bureau executive director Morteza Farajian.
“The entire region is growing and innovative solutions such as the one used on this project will help ease today’s congestion and prepare the region for future growth and associated economic development.”
The Build America Bureau was created to advance investment in US transportation infrastructure by lending federal funds to qualified borrowers; clearing roadblocks for credit-worthy projects; and encouraging best practices in project planning, financing, delivery, and operations.
It draws on expertise across USDOT to serve as a central point of coordination for US states, municipalities, private partners, and other project sponsors seeking federal financing.
To date, USDOT has reportedly closed more than US$39.5n in TIFIA financing, supporting more than US$135.4bn in infrastructure investment across the USA.
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