Infra Insight Blog

Florida Governor Rick Scott broke ground yesterday on the I-4 Ultimate Project, which will rebuild I-4 in metro-Orlando. The Project involves the reconstruction of 21 miles of I-4 from west of Kirkman Road in Orange County to east of State Road 434 in Seminole County and promises to bring much needed relief to one of the most congested highways in the state. Along with developing a signature corridor with aesthetic enhancements and landscaping to convey the Florida Experience, the Project will provide a choice to motorists by adding two variable priced toll express lanes in each ...

According to a recent internal study conducted by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), the design-build project delivery method provides significant cost and time savings as compared to the traditional design-bid-build delivery method. The study examined FDOT contracts from 2008 to 2012 that were valued between $30 million and $70 million, a group of contracts that included 11 design-build contracts and 47 design-bid-build contracts. Looking in particular at a $55 million, 814‑day design-build project, the study found that the use of design-build results in ...

The Florida Department of Transportation reached commercial and financial close on the I-4 Ultimate Project in the urban Orlando area.  The $2.3 billion deal is the third transportation P3 project in Florida developed through an availability payment structure, and is the largest availability payment transaction ever undertaken in the United States.

FDOT entered into an agreement with I-4 Mobility Partners OpCo LLC, a consortium led by Skanska Infrastructure Development Inc. and John Laing Investments Limited.  The Concessionaire will design, construct, finance, maintain and ...

On August 3, 2014, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Port of Miami achieved an important milestone when the est. $1 billion Port of Miami Tunnel opened for traffic.  The project consists of twin tunnels under Biscayne Bay linking Port facilities on Dodge Island with a widened MacArthur Causeway and I-395.  One of the first public-private partnerships in the United States to use an availability payment contracting structure, the tunnel improves access for freight trucks and cruise passengers, reducing traffic congestion in downtown Miami and improving air ...

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced today that it has selected I-4 Mobility Partners as the apparent best value proposer to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the I-4 Ultimate project.  The I-4 Ultimate project contemplates a 40-year availability payment contract at a total design and construction cost of $2,323,000,000.00 in year of expenditure dollars.  This cost is approximately $860 million less than the highest proposal received by FDOT at $3,180,033,233.90 in year of expenditure dollars.  Commercial and financial close is expected ...

On March 26, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) celebrated the grand opening of the $1.2 billion I-595 Express Corridor Improvements Project (Project) in Broward County, Florida.  The Project is the nation’s first Availability Payment public-private partnership and the first public-private highway deal in Florida.

The Project consists of the reconstruction of the I-595 mainline from the I-75/Sawgrass Expressway interchange to the I-595/I-95 interchange on I-595 and from Peters Road to Griffin Road on Florida's Turnpike, for a total project length of 13 miles ...

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced yesterday that it received four financial proposals in response to a Request for Proposals issued by FDOT on October 11, 2013 for the I-4 Ultimate Project. On June 5, 2013, FDOT announced a shortlist of four proposers, all of whom submitted financial proposals yesterday and technical proposals on February 12, 2014 seeking the contract to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the project.

The estimated $2 billion project, which will be developed through a public-private partnership concession agreement, includes ...

On June 5, 2013, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced the shortlist for the proposed I-4 Ultimate Project in Orange and Seminole Counties.

The Project includes the reconstruction of 21 miles of I-4 from west of Kirkman Road in Orange County to east of State Road 434 in Seminole County. The I-4 project adds four tolled express lanes to I-4 while maintaining the existing free general use lanes.

The shortlisted teams were selected based on qualification statements submitted on April 19, 2013 in response to the request for qualifications (RFQ) issued by FDOT on March ...

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced on April 19, 2013 that it accepted Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) from seven proposers in response to a Request for Qualifications for the I-4 Ultimate Project.  The list of proposer teams may be found at the I-4 Ultimate Project website.

The project involves the reconstruction of over 21 miles of I-4 in Orange and Seminole Counties, including 19 major interchanges, 56 new bridges and 71 bridge replacements, and the addition of two managed toll lanes in each direction.  The estimated cost of the project is approximately ...

On March 12, 2013, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) issued a press release regarding their publication of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) soliciting statements of qualifications from prospective private entities for development and implementation of a public-private partnership for the $2 billion+ Orlando-area project.  FDOT is seeking a private firm that is experienced in designing, building, financing, operating and maintaining both general use and managed lane roadways.

The I-4 Ultimate Project will be structured as an availability payment ...

The Florida Department of Transportation has scheduled an industry forum for the I-4 Ultimate Project.  The forum will be held on March 4, 2013 to introduce this $2 billion+ Orlando-area project.  The project will add two managed lanes in each direction from west of Kirkman Road in Orange County to the east of SR 434 in Seminole County, a distance of 21.1 miles.  As currently contemplated by FDOT, the project includes reconstruction of 15 interchanges, 56 new bridges and 68 bridge replacements and will be procured as a public-private partnership. 

The forum is intended for all those ...

Continuing a string of awards recognizing its groundbreaking financial structure, The Bond Buyer named the Port of Miami Tunnel Project the 2010 Deal of the Year in the nontraditional financing category.  The ninth annual black tie event, held in New York City on Dec. 9, recognized some of the country’s most innovative municipal bond issuers for transactions in a range of sectors, including transportation, schools, water and sewer systems, wind, and public pensions.  The publication considered nearly 80 deals that closed between Oct. 1, 2009, and Sept. 30, 2010.

The $1 billion Port ...

The closing of the Port of Miami Tunnel Project deal was just short of miraculous, given the tight financial markets and the political ups and downs of the project procurement. Novel risk allocations helped ensure the success of the deal. The current issue of Public Works Finance includes an excerpted discussion of the risks and the way the Florida Department of Transportation chose to address them. The full text of Port of Miami Tunnel: Digging Through Novel Risks is available on Infra Insight.