A team made up of Spanish contractors Acciona and Sacyr, along with the Australian infrastructure developer Plenary Group, have won a 50-year contract to design, build, operate and maintain a 9km toll bridge over the Calcasieu River in Louisiana.
The Calcasieu River Bridge bridge will replace a 70-year old span that connects the towns of Lake Charles and Westlake. The new version will add extra lanes and better lighting to the stretch of the I-10 that it carries.
Improvements will also be made on the approach roads, service roads and interchanges.
The project has a total investment value of $3.4bn, of which $2.3bn is taken up by construction. Long-term financing includes $1.3bn of tax-exempt private activity bonds, to be issued in four installments.
The bridge, which is expected to be finished in 2031, will be private and publicly funded, with the State of Louisiana contributing $1.2bn.
Joe Donahue, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation, said: “Tens of thousands of motorists cross the outdated existing bridge every day. A new bridge is long overdue, and clearing this hurdle puts our state closer than ever to seeing construction on this essential project.”
