Transportation project sponsors IdleAire Technologies Corp. and the Louisiana Departmentof Transportation have formally applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation for twodirect loans totaling $352 million under the agency's Transportation InfrastructureFinancing and Innovation Act program - the first projects to apply for assistance infiscal 2004, which started Oct. 1.
Sponsors of two other transportation projects - a massive endeavor to construct amultimodal terminal station and a rail extension in the San Francisco Bay area and aplan to build a 22-mile light rail line in southern California - have notified thefederal agency that they are considering applying for two direct loans for $770 millionunder the program, also known as TIFIA.
Through TIFIA, the DOT provides direct loans, loan guarantees, and lines of credit - inlieu of traditional grants - for up to 33% of the construction costs of surfacetransportation projects with price tags of at least $100 million. In order to receiveTIFIA assistance, each potential applicant must signify its interest and broadly outlinethe project, which is evaluated by the agency. A project sponsor may formally apply forcredit assistance only after the DOT confirms a project's eligibility and readiness.
Currently, almost $1.1 billion in credit assistance is available under the program,which will need to be renewed after the current five-month extension of theTransportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, or TEA-21, expires at the end ofFebruary. TEA-21, the law that authorized funding for the nation's highway and transitprograms as well as for the TIFIA program, expired Oct. 1 when the fiscal year ended.The $1.1 billion represents five months' worth of the $2.6 billion that was availablefor fiscal 2003.
Knoxville, Tenn.-based IdleAire is a private company that equips truck stops withheating and cooling units, which provide electricity and an array of other services. Theunits, which also provide cable television and Internet access, allows drivers ofeighteen-wheelers to cool or heat their rigs' cabs without operating their engines -minimizing polluting emissions.
The company is seeking a $300 million TIFIA loan to help finance an estimated $1.2billion project to equip truck stops in 23 states through the central part of thecountry where most of the nation's truck freight traffic operates.
The system of truck stops could provide a "tremendous benefit in energy savings and airquality," said John Crew, senior adviser to the company.
To date, IdleAire has equipped 13 truck stops in seven states and received nearly $8million in grants under the federal congestion mitigation and air quality, or CMAQ,program, in connection with those projects.
The Louisiana DOT applied for a $52 million TIFIA loan to help build a 10-mile, elevatedtoll road that state officials believe will improve access to Port Fourchon - a port onthe Gulf of Mexico that processes approximately 18% of the nation's oil.
The elevated road, which is estimated to cost approximately $159 million, will be builtroughly parallel to Louisiana State Route 1 - between the port and Leeville. The area,located in the southeastern part of the state, is subject to frequent flooding,according to Louisiana officials.
Along with the $52 million TIFIA loan, the project's cost would also be paid for withabout $115 million in bonds that would be backed by the road's toll revenue. The stateDOT plans to expand the road to four lanes as demand increases, and expects eventuallyto extend the road from Leeville to Golden Meadow, about another eight miles.
| California's Transbay JPA may apply for a $690M TIFIA loan for a new intermodal terminal, which is depicted here. |
Meanwhile, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority in California is considering applying fora $690 million TIFIA loan to help pay for an estimated $3.9 billion project that wouldbuild a new intermodal Transbay Terminal in downtown San Francisco, extend a Caltraincommuter rail line 1.3 miles to the new terminal, and develop about forty acres of landaround the new station."What we are looking to do is build a six-level, 900,000-gross-square-foot facility thatwill be similar to [New York's] Grand Central Station," said Maria Ayerdi, executivedirector of the authority, which will oversee the design and construction of the projectas well as operate the station.
Along with the $690 TIFIA loan, the balance of the project's cost will be covered by amix of state and local funds, which could include the issuance of tax-exempt bonds. Butthe amount of debt is unknown because the project's financing plan is still beingfleshed out.
The new terminal and rail extension could be ready for business as soon as 2010 and theland surrounding the terminal will be developed over thirty years.
In the southern part of the state, the North San Diego County Transit District isexploring applying for an $80 million TIFIA loan to help finance a $352 million, 22-milelight rail line linking Escondido and Oceanside.
The project's funding plan includes a $152.1 million federal grant, $90 million from anexisting county half-cent sales tax and a $109.1 million commitment from the state.
However, the transit district officials do not believe they can count on a commitmentfrom the state and are considering the TIFIA loan and other financing vehicles.
"Because of the [financial] condition of the state of California ... we are looking foralternatives," said Tom Kelleher, a spokesman for the transit district, who noted thatthe state funds are still promised to the project. "We are too far in to this process tothink about backing out" if state funding does not come through, he added.
Transit district officials are also mulling a possible bond issue, although no decisionhave been made, Kelleher said.
