WASHINGTON — Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell announced this week that the Virginia Transportation Infrastructure Bank will provide $160 million in loans to help finance two major transportation projects in the commonwealth.
The infrastructure bank, created in 2011 as part of McDonnell’s $4 billion transportation package, will provide $80 million for the U.S. Route 460 Corridor Improvements Project between Petersburg and Suffolk and $80 million for the Gloucester Parkway and Pacific Boulevard Extension in Loudoun County. The Route 460 project will be a public-private partnership and the Gloucester Parkway project loan will be repaid with mortgage assessments on area property, the governor’s office said.
“Much needed transportation projects can accelerate toward construction with financial assistance from the Virginia Transportation Infrastructure Bank,” McDonnell said. “The bank provides a resource that public and private-sector entities can use to finance projects so they can be built as soon as possible to relieve congestion, provide better transportation and stimulate the economy in the near-term instead of waiting years into the future.”
The Route 460 project is a is a 55-mile four-lane highway to be located parallel to the existing Route 460, and will operate as a toll road. The toll revenues will pay back the loan and provide backing for bonds that will be issued by the P3. The project was among the “pipeline” of 22 P3 projects announced by the governor earlier this month. Conceptual proposals have been received from 460 Partners, Inc., Cintra 460, and Multimodal solutions, LLC., according to the Virginia Office of Transportation Public-Private Partnerships. Financial close on the project is scheduled for December 2012 with construction anticipated to begin next year once all financing is in place.
The loan is expected to finance the entirety of the Gloucester Parkway project, considered a top priority for Loudoun County. Construction on the three-phase project is scheduled to finish by the end of 2014.
These are just the second and third projects to receive funding from the fledgling bank, initially funded with $283 million from a fiscal year 2010 surplus and savings from a Virginia Department of Transportation performance audit. A bridge project in Chesapeake became the first beneficiary in January.
“The infrastructure bank offers low interest rates and an incredible opportunity to fast-track projects that are needed now,” Virginia Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton said.
“We are leveraging all resources to get projects, people and traffic moving,” VDOT Commissioner Greg Whirley added. “The infrastructure bank is accelerating three important projects, which will ultimately benefit motorists and the economy.”
