The Florida Department of Transportation announced last week that it is moving forward with the state’s largest public-private partnership — the $1.2 billion Port of Miami tunnel project.
Although signing the final contract is about a year behind schedule due to the complexity if negotiations between the DOT and its funding partners — the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County — a consortium called Miami Access Tunnel LLC will design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the tunnel project through a concession contract that provides it with availability payments for 30 years after the tunnel opens to traffic.
MAT’s main partners are Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group US LLC and Bouygues Travaux Publics SA. MAT obtained a private-activity bond allocation up to $900 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation for financing of the project.
The Florida DOT is spearheading the project that involves boring two 3,900-foot tunnels about 100 feet below the water to create a bypass for buses carrying cruise ship passengers and freight trucks heading to the Port of Miami. Currently, thousands of those vehicles head in and out of the port every day, causing extreme congestion as they pass through the heart of downtown Miami.
The Florida DOT will fund about half of the cost through its annual budget.
A portion of Miami-Dade County’s $402.5 million share of the project will come from the sale of general obligation and revenue bonds.
Miami is planning to use tax increment financing for most, or all, of its $50 million share of the cost. The city will receive another $5 million credit from the donation of right of way.
