I-4 Ultimate contract awarded

A joint venture consisting of Skanska USA Civil Southeast, Inc., Granite Construction Company and the Lane Construction Corporation has been awarded a US$ 8 billion contract for the I-4 Ultimate project in Florida.

The I-4 Ultimate project is a public-private partnership concession agreement to design, build, finance, operate and maintain 21 miles (34 km) of Interstate 4 from west Kirkman Road in Orange County to east of State Road 434 in Seminole County.

The I-4 Ultimate project includes reconstructing 15 major interchanges, constructing more than 140 bridges, adding four variable priced toll Express Lanes in the median, and rebuilding the general use lanes along the entire corridor. The express lanes will be operated with variable tolls, which will be adjusted to improve traffic flow throughout the corridor. Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will retain the revenue and will control the toll rates.

The joint venture, which is part of the I-4 Mobility Partners team, was selected by FDOT as the best value proposer for this public-private partnership contract. The I-4 Mobility Partners consortium is led by infrastructure investor John Laing, which holds a 50% share in the project.

Anthony Phillips, head of North America at John Laing, said, "We are delighted that FDOT recognizes the benefits of our proposals, which are expected to deliver improvements to Interstate-4 20 years sooner than using conventional methods. The US is an important market for John Laing and we are proud to be involved in such a significant transportation project for the state of Florida, which will benefit from our expertise in delivering high quality infrastructure for the public sector."

Construction will begin in the first quarter of 2015 and is scheduled for completion by 2021. The concession length is 40 years.