U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau will provide a $225 million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan to the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) in California.
“This $225 million investment will help relieve long-term congestion and improve the reliability of this important corridor,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao.
The loan will go towards financing the I-10 Corridor Contract 1 Project. I-10 is one of three national coast-to-coast interstate routes providing east-west access from California to Florida. As part of the Primary Freight Network, the I-10 is also an important route for facilitating goods movement between Southern California and the rest of the nation.
The project will widen the existing 10-mile highway between the Los Angeles/San Bernardino County line and the I-15 by adding two managed tolled express lanes in each direction. It is the first part of a larger 33-mile I-10 Corridor widening project, which would extend into Redlands east of San Bernardino County.
The TIFIA loan will be repaid primarily from toll revenues generated by the project. SBCTA is providing additional credit support of up to $93 million from sales tax proceeds. The Build America Bureau, which administers the TIFIA credit program, was established as a “one-stop shop” to streamline credit opportunities, while also providing technical assistance and encouraging innovative best practices in project planning, financing, delivery, and monitoring. During Secretary Chao’s tenure at DOT, the Department has closed nearly $5.6 billion in TIFIA financings, supporting over $19.7 billion in infrastructure projects across the country.
