Panel Weighs In on Firms

The process for privatizing Florida’s first existing toll road continues today in a public meeting where a panel of technical and financial experts will brief a scoring committee on their evaluation of the six firms that submitted their qualifications in response to the project.

The Florida Department of Transportation received six responses from firms interested in leasing the 78-mile-long Alligator Alley, which traverses Collier and Broward counties in south Florida.

Today’s meeting is the first of two in the process to determine a short list of firms that will be asked to submit lease proposals. A second public meeting will be held on Aug. 25, at which the selection committee will release the short list.

There is a backlog of unfunded transportation projects in south Florida. According to state law, revenues from the lease of Alligator Alley must be spent in Collier and Broward counties. The state is looking to lease the toll road for 50 or 75 years, in return for an up-front payment and other guarantees.

Studies by the state and investment banks suggest that leasing Alligator Alley could bring between $350 million to more than $1 billion.

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