Construction is about to start on the first public-private partnership highway project in the US state of Ohio.
The Southern Ohio Veterans Memorial Highway, near the city of Portsmouth, will cost nearly US$228 million and is scheduled for completion in 2019, according to the7272 Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).
The Portsmouth Gateway Group will build the 25.8km, four-lane limited access highway from U.S. Route 23 north of Lucasville to U.S. Route 52 near Sciotoville.
An ODOT statement said that the project “has been in demand for decades and using innovative P3 [public-private partnership] financing allows ODOT to build it now and pay for it over 35 years, while still building other important projects around the state”.
The ODOT said the Southern Ohio Veterans Memorial Highway is the department’s “largest, modern earthwork project to date”. Construction crews will remove about 19 million cubic metres of earth and rock and place another 19 million cubic metres of embankment.
Leading the joint venture Portsmouth Gateway Group is construction contractor4761 Dragados USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dragados, S.A., the construction arm of the ACS Group -- Actividades de Construccion y Servicios -- based in Madrid, Spain.
Dragados USA was set up in 2005 and has won several large transportation, marine, dam and reconstruction projects. These include the $1.2 billion East Side Access project in New York City and the $1.3 billion SR 99 Seattle Bored Tunnel in the northwestern state of Washington.
Other contractors include Beaver Excavating, one of Ohio’s largest heavy civil and highway infrastructure construction companies, and Ohio-based John R. Jurgensen, a specialist interstate and roadway construction and asphalt paving business
Lead engineering firm is the Ohio-based ms consultants, supported by specialised sub-consultants TranSystems, S&ME and Portsmouth area firms.
The project’s financing is accomplished through the use of $227.36 million in tax exempt private activity bonds with another $208 million provided through a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, or TIFIA, loan from the federal government in Washington. TIFIA Loans are low-interest loans for projects of national and regional significance.
The new highway will complete the Appalachian Development Highway System in Ohio and will improve safety in and around the city of Portsmouth and Scioto County by taking heavy truck traffic off city streets, the ODOT said.
Since 2012, “ODOT has been working to develop the project as a P3, which allows ODOT to accelerate the project by decades, and the department can avoid rising project costs by taking advantage of current competitive economic conditions”.
The ODOT said the Southern Ohio Veterans Memorial Highway is the department’s “largest, modern earthwork project to date”. Construction crews will remove about 25 million cubic yards of earth and rock and place another 25 million cubic yards of embankment.
The Southern Ohio Veterans Memorial Highway, near the city of Portsmouth, will cost nearly US$228 million and is scheduled for completion in 2019, according to the
The Portsmouth Gateway Group will build the 25.8km, four-lane limited access highway from U.S. Route 23 north of Lucasville to U.S. Route 52 near Sciotoville.
An ODOT statement said that the project “has been in demand for decades and using innovative P3 [public-private partnership] financing allows ODOT to build it now and pay for it over 35 years, while still building other important projects around the state”.
The ODOT said the Southern Ohio Veterans Memorial Highway is the department’s “largest, modern earthwork project to date”. Construction crews will remove about 19 million cubic metres of earth and rock and place another 19 million cubic metres of embankment.
Leading the joint venture Portsmouth Gateway Group is construction contractor
Dragados USA was set up in 2005 and has won several large transportation, marine, dam and reconstruction projects. These include the $1.2 billion East Side Access project in New York City and the $1.3 billion SR 99 Seattle Bored Tunnel in the northwestern state of Washington.
Other contractors include Beaver Excavating, one of Ohio’s largest heavy civil and highway infrastructure construction companies, and Ohio-based John R. Jurgensen, a specialist interstate and roadway construction and asphalt paving business
Lead engineering firm is the Ohio-based ms consultants, supported by specialised sub-consultants TranSystems, S&ME and Portsmouth area firms.
The project’s financing is accomplished through the use of $227.36 million in tax exempt private activity bonds with another $208 million provided through a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, or TIFIA, loan from the federal government in Washington. TIFIA Loans are low-interest loans for projects of national and regional significance.
The new highway will complete the Appalachian Development Highway System in Ohio and will improve safety in and around the city of Portsmouth and Scioto County by taking heavy truck traffic off city streets, the ODOT said.
Since 2012, “ODOT has been working to develop the project as a P3, which allows ODOT to accelerate the project by decades, and the department can avoid rising project costs by taking advantage of current competitive economic conditions”.
The ODOT said the Southern Ohio Veterans Memorial Highway is the department’s “largest, modern earthwork project to date”. Construction crews will remove about 25 million cubic yards of earth and rock and place another 25 million cubic yards of embankment.
