U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx Announces $950 Million TIFIA Loan to Rebuild and Widen Key Segment of Florida's I-4

Topics:  Interstate Highway System, Anthony Foxx

Federal Highway Administration
9 September 2014

FHWA 23-14
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
Contact: Nancy Singer
Tel: 202-366-0660

Early DOT involvement leads to successful, expedited public-private partnership

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced at today's Build America Infrastructure Investment Summit a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan for $950 million to help pay for the reconstruction and widening of 21 miles of Interstate 4 in metropolitan Orlando, Fla. This is the largest loan the Department has awarded to a public-private partnership (P3). When completed, the project will relieve congestion in one of the country's most heavily traveled areas.

Known as the "I-4 Ultimate," the project is part of the 54-year-old I-4 corridor, which runs 73 miles between Tampa and Daytona Beach and serves several of the region's key north-south corridors, such as Florida's Turnpike and I-95.

"We've been able to move this project from the financing drawing board to breaking ground in near record time because of the Department's early involvement," said Secretary Foxx. "The 'I-4 Ultimate' is the sort of highway improvement America's drivers' need, and it underscores the importance of passing the President's GROW AMERICA Act to make more investments to modernize our aging roads to keep up with future demands."

This project benefited from FDOT's engagement with the Department early in the P3 process and using a new, streamlined P3 process that includes a standard term sheet. The Department established a new Build America Transportation Investment Center to help connect more project sponsors to Departmental programs like TIFIA and encourage the use such process improvements.

The President's GROW AMERICA Act is a bold $302 billion, four-year multi-modal investment plan to address America's aging transportation network.

"Without a loan like this, Orlando's I-4 would have continued to age requiring even more costly fixes in the years ahead, creating additional traffic delays without any hope of congestion relief," said Acting Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau. "The travel demands in this area of Florida continue to grow, which is why the 'I-4 Ultimate' is the right solution at the right time."

The Department engaged the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) early in the project development process to provide certainty to potential private bidders that the Department would be a significant partner in the I-4 Ultimate project. This is the first project under Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) to complete the new model specifically tailored for public-private partnerships to involve the TIFIA loan office with a public sponsor very early in the process.

This process has enabled the Department to engage quickly with I-4 Mobility Partners, the P3 partner selected by FDOT, after award of the concession and close the loan in just four months.

By utilizing TIFIA, FDOT will save tens of millions of dollars in availability payments over the course of the concession.

The TIFIA loan will be used to replace six general purpose lanes on I-4 and add four new express lanes on a 21-mile section of I-4 that runs through Orlando, from west of Kirkman Road in Orange County to east of SR 434 in Seminole County. I-4 in Orlando serves some of world's most popular travel destinations, including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld Orlando. Growth in both resident and visitor populations have spurred employment, which have all contributed to increased regional traffic congestion.

The TIFIA credit program is designed to fill market gaps and leverage substantial non-federal investments. Each dollar of federal funding can provide up to $10 in TIFIA credit assistance and support up to $30 in transportation infrastructure investment.

This is the 13th TIFIA loan the Department has closed this fiscal year, a one-year record for the program. To date, the Department has financed $7.4 billion in FY 2014 to support transportation infrastructure across the country.

This July, President Obama launched the Department of Transportation's Build America Transportation Investment Center (Center), a one-stop shop for state and local governments, public and private developers, and investors seeking to utilize innovative financing strategies for transportation infrastructure projects. The Center is helping to advance best practices and strategies that build on recent DOT successes like I-4.