Ferrovial inaugurates the LBJ Express in Dallas, its new highway with managed lanes in the US.

The total investment managed reaches 2.350 million euros

The concession, with an extension of 21,3 kilometers, has a duration of 52 years.

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Ferrovial has inaugurated the LBJ Express highway in Dallas, Texas, which has represented an investment of 2.635 million dollars. This state-of-the-art highway, layout design and advanced technology, is located in the northern area of ​​Dallas, in one of the most congested corridors in the United States. Rafael del Pino, president of Ferrovial; Íñigo Meirás, CEO; Mike Rawlings, Mayor of Dallas, Tryon Lewis, Chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, and Gregory G. Nadeau, of the Federal Highway Administration, presided over the opening ceremony, which also included the mayors of the main cities to whom serves the highway, as well as other authorities of the United States and Texas Departments of Transportation. Construction has been completed more than three months ahead of the date set in the contract.

 

Cintra, a subsidiary of Ferrovial, leads the consortium that will operate the concession for 52 years of this 21,3-kilometer urban highway that surrounds the north of Dallas along IH-635, between US-75 and IH-35E, and a stretch of interstate I-35E. The construction, which began in 2011, was carried out by Ferrovial Agroman and Webber, and was carried out by keeping the corridor open to traffic while existing lanes were expanded and improved, service roads were given continuity, and new lanes were built. dynamic tolling (managed lanes) along the highway.

 

The four shareholders in LBJ Express are Cintra (51% of the capital), APG (26,46%), Meridiam (15,94%) and the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System fund (6,6%). The project has used four sources of financing: a Private Activity Bonds issue, a long-term TIFIA loan, granted by the US Department of Transportation, and contributions from partners and the Texas Department of Transportation.

 

The entire work has involved the construction of a surface area of ​​concrete structure equivalent to 120 football fields, pavement equivalent to 280 fields, and a volume close to 7 million cubic meters has been excavated. About 100 km have been used. of piles, 330 km. of prefabricated beams and 320.000 square meters of walls of different types have been built. The 9 lanes in each direction that the highway has have involved the construction of more than 350 km. of lane, reaching a section of the highway to 28 lanes.

 

Managed lanes in the United States

 

The North Tarrant Express (NTE), inaugurated last year, was the first highway with Ferrovial managed lanes in the United States. In the months that it has been in operation, it is fulfilling the planned plan. Traffic in the second quarter of 2015 stood at 5 million transactions, which represented an increase of 24% compared to the previous quarter. On April 2, the dynamic toll system came into operation.

 

The LBJ and the NTE are unique projects in their category as they are dynamic toll highways built within an urban highway that has been rehabilitated and will be operated and maintained throughout the concession period without charge to users. With the addition of the managed lanes – in Texas called TEXpress lanes – the capacity of the road along the corridor is doubled. Drivers will be able to choose between the free lanes or the new lanes by paying a toll, which will fluctuate throughout the day, depending on traffic conditions in the corridor. Traffic speed in toll lanes is guaranteed at a minimum of 50 miles per hour (about 80km/h).

 

Sensors installed along the highway will transmit continuous information about traffic conditions (traffic, weather, congestion level, etc.) and tolls can be readjusted every five minutes. In this way, prices will vary, adapting at all times to the conditions in the corridor, improving traffic flow.

All entrances and exits to express toll lanes, general purpose lanes and service roads are widely signposted to guide drivers safely on their journey. Toll prices are announced well in advance so that users have time to decide whether to use the managed lanes or continue their journey on the highway's general-purpose lanes. The system guarantees that the price of the section does not vary for that user during their journey, regardless of whether it may have changed during their journey.

 

Dallas–Fort Worth

The Dallas/Fort Worth area (Metroplex) concentrates a quarter of the entire population of Texas, making it the largest metropolitan area in the State and the fourth largest in the United States, with more than 6,6 million inhabitants. In economic terms, the Dallas/Fort Worth area is one of the richest in the country and the tenth in the world. More than 10.000 companies have their headquarters in the area, including 21 companies on the “Fortune 500” list such as American Airlines, Exxon Mobil, AT&T, Fluor, Southwest Airlines, Texas Instruments, JC Penney and Kimberly-Clark. In terms of entertainment, Dallas offers more restaurants and shops per capita than New York. Dallas/Fort Worth Airport is the third largest in the United States.

 

Cintra is one of the leading companies in the private promotion of transport infrastructure throughout the world, by number of projects and investment volume. It currently manages 2.100 kilometers of highway, spread across 28 concessions in Canada, the United States, Australia, Colombia and Europe. Cintra is the largest shareholder in the concessionaire of the 407 ETR highway, in Ontario, Canada, with a 43,23% stake.

 

At the end of 2014, 19% of income from participation in Cintra's capital came from the United States. Of the 28 concessions that Cintra has in its portfolio in the world, six are in the United States. In operation are the North Tarrant Express, LBJ Express and SH 130 (Texas), and the Chicago Skyway (Illinois). In the execution phase are I-77 (North Carolina) and NTE 35W (Texas).