DALLAS - The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is accelerating plans for the $623 million U.S. 290 tollway near Austin to take advantage of federal stimulus funds, officials said.
The authority expects to issue $170 million of toll revenue bonds as early as next month for a 4.5-mile extension of its existing U.S. 183 tollway and about $230 million next spring for the first section of the 6.2-mile U.S. 290 East tollway that will connect with U.S. 183.
The first phase of the U.S. 290 project will be shorter and narrower than originally planned to speed connection between the two roads with the construction of the U.S. 183 interchange, officials said. The center toll lanes of the U.S. 290 project will be known as the Manor Expressway, with total project costs estimated at $623 million.
As a "shovel-ready" project, the 183 interchange qualified for $90 million in federal stimulus funds. To make the interchange functional, it needed to connect with a section of U.S. 290, said authority spokesman Steve Pustelnyk.
"We're still committed to moving forward with the full project," Pustelnyk said. "We decided to expedite the first phase of the Manor Expressway due to the stimulus funding."
Despite toll revenues growing at a rate of better than 10%, the authority still faces challenges in the bond market, said chief financial officer Bill Chapman.
"If it had been 60 to 90 days ago, it would have been tougher," Chapman said. "Based on what we're hearing from our underwriters, we feel pretty confident about our place in the market."
JPMorgan will lead the underwriting team for the upcoming issue, with First Southwest Co. as financial adviser.
With ratings of BBB-minus from Standard & Poor's and Baa3 from Moody's Investors Service, the authority is shopping for insurance on its upcoming issue, Chapman said.
Updated plans call for flyover bridges at U.S. 183 and about a mile and a half of toll lanes on the U.S. 290-Manor Expressway. The first section will be two lanes in each direction instead of the three originally planned.
Construction of the flyover interchange at US 183 is expected to begin by the end of this year, with remainder of the U.S. 183 tollway to be open in 2011.
The Mobility Authority is expected to take bids on the Manor Expressway this year, and construction is expected to begin by early 2010. The complete roadway could be open to traffic by 2013.
The toll authority is setting tolls based on a formula that uses inflation data, Chapman said.
Among its other sources of funding, the authority obtained a $31.6 million loan from the State Infrastructure Bank with the approval of the Texas Transportation Commission recently. The loan will be used by the Mobility Authority to buy right-of-way and relocate utilities on a 1.4-mile segment of the Manor Expressway.
