Spanish firm Cintra and Australia's Macquarie have announced plans to sell their concession for the Chicago Skyway Bridge in the United States.
The Chicago Skyway Bridge is a 12.55 km toll road built in 1958 to connect the Dan Ryan Expressway to the Indiana Toll Road. 36% of the Skyway's structures are overpasses, the majority of which are located over the Calumet River. Some 50,000 vehicles use the highway daily.
Cintra has a 55 % stake in the concession while Macquarie holds the remaining 45 %.
In January 2005, the Skyway Concession Company, LLC (SCC) assumed operations on the Skyway with a 99-year operating lease that gave the City of Chicago a US$1.83 billion cash infusion. SCC is responsible for all operating and maintenance costs of the Skyway and has the right to all toll and concession revenue. This agreement between SCC and the City of Chicago was the first privatization of an existing toll road anywhere in the United States.
According to Ferrovial, the Chicago Skyway Bridge had revenues of €62 million (US$68.8 million) and an operating income of €54 million (US$59.9 million) in 2014.