/ Financial / U.S. Department of Transportation Will Provide a $285 Million Loan to Expand I-35E in the Dallas Metro Area

U.S. Department of Transportation Will Provide a $285 Million Loan to Expand I-35E in the Dallas Metro Area

Parul Dubey on November 8, 2016 - in Financial, News

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced that the Texas Transportation Commission will receive a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan for $285 million to finance the reconstruction and expansion of a section of I-35E in the Dallas metro area.

The TIFIA loan program is now administered by the Department of Transportation’s new Build America Bureau (Bureau), a “one-stop shop” to help streamline credit and grant opportunities for communities like those in the Dallas area, while also providing technical assistance and encouraging innovative approaches to project planning, financing, delivery, and monitoring.

“The Bureau helps DOT to meet the needs of America’s growing infrastructure challenges and to build a 21st century transportation system,” said Secretary Foxx. “Thousands of Dallas-area commuters and businesses will benefit from this new project that uses technology solutions to better manage traffic flow into and out of the area.”

The project, to be completed in phases, will reconstruct and expand a 28-mile section of I-35E between I-635 to U.S. 380 that serves the rapidly growing areas of southern and central Denton County as well as the major Dallas suburbs immediately north of I-635.  This major artery for commuters is also a primary link to Denton-area universities.

The $285 million loan will be used for the project’s first phase. The improvements include one additional general purpose lane in each direction and two reversible priced lanes. The lanes will be priced according to time of day and will be shifted in the direction of heavy traffic flow during peak times to relieve congestion.

The project also includes numerous frontage road, interchange and ramp additions and upgrades, especially along the Lake Lewisville section where there are no current north-south commuting alternatives to I-35E. A new bridge will also be constructed over the lake.

“By leveraging a loan from the Bureau, more projects like the I-35E can become viable,” said Andrew Right, Acting Director of the Build America Bureau. “We have an open door policy for any transportation project to meet with our team to discuss the federal programs and agreements that could move your project forward.”

The Build America Bureau combines the following DOT programs: the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA), the Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF), the private activity bond (PAB) program, the Outreach and Project Development functions of the BATIC, and the Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grant program.

Since the beginning of the Build America series of initiatives in 2014, DOT’s Credit Programs have closed nearly $13 billion in financing for 23 projects with $30 billion in total project costs.

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