Consortium achieives financial close on Texas toll road project

A consortium led by private-sector developer Cintra has achieved financial close for the construction and operation of the final two segments of SH 130, a new toll road that will relieve congestion and anticipated traffic growth in one of Texas’ fastest developing regions.

The $1.36 billion investment by the Austin-based SH 130 Concession Company LLC will be financed through a combination of private equity, bank loans and a loan from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, which helps encourage private-sector involvement in highway projects.

“This is an exciting milestone in the development of a much-needed roadway in Central Texas,” said Jose Maria Lopez de Fuentes, U.S. director for Madrid-based Cintra. “This financial achievement on the part of our team is especially noteworthy given the current constriction in the financial markets. We now look forward to developing a state-of-the-art expressway system that will provide drivers congestion relief and greater safety.”

Cintra, which is based in Madrid and has U.S. operations in Texas, holds a 65% stake in the SH 130 Concession Company.

The project will complete the remaining 40 miles of SH 130 running from southeast Austin to I-10 at Seguin. Construction on those remaining miles, known as Segments 5 and 6, is expected to start in early 2009 and to end by 2012.

The new expressway will serve not only regional traffic but also offer an alternative to I-35 between San Antonio and north Austin, relieving bottlenecks that have become more common in Central Texas. The high-capacity expressway will also help absorb existing and expected growth in long-distance truck traffic.