The team has been named as the apparent best value proposer to design, build and finance a 41.8km stretch of the highway in North Carolina and operate and maintain it under a 50-year concession contract.
The work represents an investment of approximately US$655m. The design and construction will be executed by a joint venture comprising Ferrovial Agroman and US construction company WC English. The 50-year concession begins once the road is open to traffic, expected in mid-2018.
Financial closure of the project is expected in the coming months and construction will begin in early 2015. The design includes road widening in both directions in the metropolitan area north of Charlotte, between the junctions with the I-277 in Charlotte and the NC-150 in Iredell County. The existing highway will be rebuilt and capacity will be increased by creating managed lanes, subject to variable electronic tolls, designed to help reduce congestion and improve traffic flow in the corridor.
The project is divided into three segments. On the 3.5km southern segment, the existing section will be upgraded and two managed lanes will be built in each direction. Work on the 23.8km central segment will involve the existing lanes will be upgraded and the construction of two managed lanes in each direction. For the 14.2km northern segment, the consortium will build one new managed lane in each direction.
The managed lanes will be barrier-free, using a dynamic tolling system. The concession holder ensures that the average speed on the managed lane is at least 80% of the established speed in the toll-free segment.
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