Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced a TIFIA loan for US$162 million to finance the East End Crossing section of the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project.

The Indiana Finance Agency (IFA) will receive the TIFIA loan for the East End Crossing and will enter into agreement with the Indiana Department of Transportation, which gives the state the rights to use the road in exchange for payments to the IFA. These payments will be applied by the IFA to the TIFIA Loan.

At the total cost of $1.27 billion, the East End Crossing includes the East End Bridge and its connecting roadways. The bridge spans the Ohio River eight miles to the north connecting the east end of Louisville, near Prospect, to southern Indiana, near Utica. The project is successfully being delivered as PPP, and benefited from a U.S. Department of Transportation private activity bond allocation in 2013.

WVB East End Partners, a team of Walsh Investors LLC, VINCI Concessions and Bilfinger Project Investments, was selected for its innovative proposal to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the East End Crossing. The Indiana Finance Authority (IFA) finalized an agreement and reached "commercial close" with WVB East End Partners in December 2012. Later in December the team achieved financial closure for the project. The concession term is equal to the construction period of 3.6 years plus 35 years of operations.

In February last year we reported that Bilfinger Berger Global Infrastructure SICAV S.A. completed the acquisition of a 33.33% interest in the East End Crossing from Bilfinger Berger Project Investments.

The East End Crossing is part of the larger Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges bi-state project designed to provide two new bridges across the Ohio River to meet the region's travel needs. The East End Bridge is financed by Indiana and the Downtown Crossing is financed by Kentucky. The Downtown Crossing received a $452 million TIFIA loan in 2013, bringing TIFIA's financing for the entire project to the amount of $604 million toward the total project cost of more than $2 billion.

Secretary Foxx stated:

"This project will relieve congestion and stimulate the economy of the entire Louisville-Southern Indiana region both today and for years to come. Projects like this reinforce the need for the Administration's GROW AMERICA Act, a $478 billion bill that provides funding over six years, so states and communities will have stable funding long enough to make big infrastructure projects a reality."

Deputy Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau commented:

"The project will connect communities and businesses on both sides of the river and provide convenient access for area residents. It also helps relieve congestion by allowing Louisville-area travelers to bypass downtown traffic."