Colorado’s US 36 Managed Lanes and Bus Rapid Transit Project Selected to Apply for Transportation Infrastructure Loan
Project on Short List for Competitive Federal Credit Program
WASHINGTON - U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced that the US 36 project has been selected to apply for a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan to develop multi-modal solutions to address congestion on the corridor. Currently, commuters on the US 36 corridor experience severe congestion delay.
The project aims to address the needs of the growing Denver metropolitan region, manage traffic capacity, and provide congestion-free, multimodal travel alternatives. Transit ridership on the facility is expected to increase by 26 percent in the near term and double within 20 years.
“President Obama called for ‘an America built to last,’ and the TIFIA program can help us achieve that,” said Secretary LaHood. “A little TIFIA goes a long way for communities that use these loans to leverage additional funding so they can tackle the big picture transportation projects this country needs.”
Project One of Five Selected
The Colorado project was one of five selected to submit a loan application, which the Department of Transportation will review. If approved, the loan would go toward financing part of the estimated total project cost of $139.7 million.
“TIFIA can help move projects forward, which will create jobs and strengthen the economy,” Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez said. “Given current fiscal constraints, the program provides an invaluable opportunity for states and localities to leverage limited resources.”
About the Program
The TIFIA program provides federal credit assistance to nationally or regionally significant surface transportation projects, including highway, transit and rail. The program is designed to fill market gaps and leverage substantial private co-investment by providing projects with supplemental debt.
National demand for TIFIA infrastructure credit assistance has been overwhelming. In response to the fiscal year 2012 Notice of Funding Availability, the U.S. Department of Transportation received 26 letters of interest exceeding $13 billion in total requests. Since its inception, TIFIA has accelerated delivery of critical infrastructure investments by providing almost $9.1billion in credit assistance to 26 projects.