Spain’s Cintra and Australia’s Macquarie Infrastructure Group are the victor in the competition for rights to operate the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road through 2081. Statewide Mobility Partners, a joint venture between the two firms, bid a lump sum of $3.85 billion for the lease rights, the state announced Jan. 24. The road cuts across northern Indiana from Ohio to Chicago, where it intersects the Chicago Skyway, which the team successfully leased in 2004 for $1.8 billion.
“Both are experienced and aggressive buyers of toll road assets,” says one observer. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R), who described the bid as an “astonishing sum,” has asked the state legislature to pass his “Major Moves” initiative so the state can move forward with the sale. The bill will bring public-private partnerships to Indiana and allow it to bridge its $3-billion transportation funding gap. Daniels envisions use of private dollars to jumpstart highway construction. “At last, we can stop dreaming and start digging,” he says.