A team consisting of Spanish construction companies Acciona and Sacyr and Australian infrastructure developer Plenary Group has won a 50-year contract to design, build, operate and maintain a 9-kilometer toll bridge over the Calcasieu River in Louisiana.
The Calcasieu River Bridge will replace a 70-year-old bridge that connects the cities of Lake Charles and Westlake. The new version will add additional lanes and better lighting to the section of I-10 that spans it.
Improvements will also be made to access roads, service roads and intersections.
The total investment in the project is $3.4 billion, of which $2.3 billion is for construction. Long-term financing includes $1.3 billion in tax-free private activity bonds issued in four installments.
The bridge, scheduled for completion in 2031, will be funded both privately and publicly, with the state of Louisiana contributing $1.2 billion.
Joe Donahue, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation, said, “Tens of thousands of motorists cross the aging existing bridge every day. A new bridge is long overdue, and overcoming this hurdle brings our state closer than ever to building this important project.”
