Tom Warne Report, 12 October 2012
AUSTIN – Each year, Texans waste more than 2 million hours sitting in traffic on I-35W near downtown in Fort Worth. With completed negotiations for a new highway construction agreement this week, the Texas Department of Transportation hopes to cut that time by more than a third. The draft agreement with NTE Mobility Partners Segments 3 LLC (NTEMP3) will add two managed lanes each way on I-35W, or the North Tarrant Express, and rebuild the existing highway, which today tops TxDOT’s 100 Most Congested Roadways.
“Texans have better things to do than to sit in traffic, and that’s why we’re proud to partner with the private sector to speed up a critical transportation project,” said Phil Wilson, TxDOT executive director. “TxDOT continuously strives to move aggressively with our priority projects in order to address congestion and help Texans spend less time on the road and more time with their families.”
Funding for the project highlights the region’s strong transportation partnerships. The North Central Texas Council of Governments has committed approximately $89.5 million for the project, and identified another $40.5 million for project contingencies. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Transportation invited the developer to apply for a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan of up to $537 million to help fund the project. The project also is expected to receive $273 million from Private Activity Bonds issued by the developer and $446 million in developer equity. The scheduled improvements from north of I-30 to north of I-820 (Segment 3A) will provide $1.4 billion of needed infrastructure to the Fort Worth area. The agreement also provides operations and maintenance until 2061.
As part of this project, TxDOT will also make improvements to Segment 3B, which runs from north of I-820 to US 81/287. Segment 3B will be rebuilt and widened to include two managed lanes each way at a total project cost to TxDOT of $234 million. Once constructed, Segment 3B will be turned over to NTEMP3 for operations and maintenance under the agreement.