The effort to reconstruct Interstate 4 (I-4) in Orange and Seminole counties took its biggest step forward to date. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) on April 23 announced that it has selected I-4 Mobility Partners as the Best Value Proposer and posted a Notice of Intent to Award. The I-4 Mobility Partners team has been selected to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the project known as the I-4 Ultimate through a 40-year public-private partnership concession agreement at a total design and construction cost of $2,323,000,000.00 in year-of-expenditure dollars. This cost is approximately $860 million less than the highest proposal received by FDOT at $3,180,033,233.90 in year-of-expenditure dollars. Commercial and financial close is expected to occur later this summer.

FDOT Secretary Ananth Prasad said, “The use of a public-private partnership for the I-4 Ultimate project will help us deliver these improvements 20 years sooner than using conventional methods. This benefits Central Florida residents, commuters and visitors.”

The members of the I-4 Mobility Partners team include the following:

• Skanska Infrastructure Development Inc. (Equity Member)
• John Laing Investments Limited (Equity Member)
• Construction Joint Venture – Skanska USA Civil Southeast Inc., Granite Construction Company, and the Lane Construction Corporation (Lead Contractor)
• Design Joint Venture – HDR Engineering, Inc. and Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. (Lead Engineer)
• Infrastructure Corporation of America (Lead Operations and Maintenance Firm)

The project includes the reconstruction of 21 miles of I-4 from west of Kirkman Road in Orange County to east of State Road 434 in Seminole County. The I-4 Ultimate project adds four tolled Express Lanes to I-4 while maintaining the existing free general use lanes, providing a choice to motorists. The Express Lanes will be operated with variable tolls, which will be adjusted to improve traffic flow throughout the corridor. FDOT will retain the toll revenue and control the toll rates.

The I-4 Mobility Partners team provided FDOT with additional technical enhancements in its proposal that included direct connections from 4 Express Lanes to State Road 408, capacity improvements in the form of additional auxiliary and turn lanes, pedestrian bridges and enhanced aesthetics along the facility. Construction is expected to begin in early 2015 and be completed in 2021.

The I-4 Ultimate project was procured by FDOT as a public-private partnership. The concession agreement sets the concessionaire’s responsibility to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the facility for 40 years. Under the concession agreement, the concessionaire earns “availability” payments from FDOT upon meeting set performance standards to keep the facility open and maintained for travelers. Benefits of public-private partnerships include transferring cost overrun risks for construction and long-term upkeep of the facility to the private sector. Large, complex projects can be combined and accelerated using the public-private partnership approach, advancing the benefits of the project to the public sooner than traditional methods.

I-4 Mobility Partners was one of four teams submitting proposals on this project. To see details about the other three teams, please visit the "Press Room" section of www.Moving-4-ward.com and click on "Media Releases."

Loreen Bobo, P.E. is the I-4 Ultimate Construction Program Manager for FDOT District 5 in Central Florida. She has been working for FDOT for 15 years and is the go-to person for the procurement, criteria package development and construction of the I-4 Ultimate project. Loreen explains her passion for engineering and the impact this landmark project will have on the region.

Now that FDOT has selected I-4 Mobility Partners for its Best Value Proposal to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the much-needed I-4 Ultimate project, here’s a look ahead at what’s to come:

• A contract will be signed between the project team and FDOT, currently projected for this summer.
• Notice to Proceed (NTP) 1 will allow the design phase to begin, planned for this fall.
• NTP 2, anticipated for early 2015, will then allow I-4 Mobility Partners to begin construction and assume responsibility for maintenance of the 21-mile project — from right of way to right of way — not including toll equipment or collection.

I-4 Ultimate is unique not only because it’s single-handedly the largest reconstruction project in Florida history, but also because one project team has sole control over both designing and building the project. This streamlines the entire process and provides a higher level of flexibility. When issues arise, they can be addressed and adjusted immediately.

To bring congestion relief to I-4 on a compressed schedule, FDOT decided to pursue a public-private partnership (P3). This P3 procurement allows the full project to be built 17 years earlier than traditional design and construction methods would. Although construction workers and orange cones won’t be seen on the interstate tomorrow, everything is moving forward as planned by FDOT.

Another public meeting for the I-4 Beyond the Ultimate Project Development and Environment (PD&E) Reevaluation Study was held on April 24. This time attendees in Volusia County were able to discuss with FDOT project team members the planned improvements along the 10-mile stretch of I-4 from east of U.S. 17-92 to east of State Road 472. Attending public meetings is a great way to learn more about the location, conceptual design and social, economic and environmental effects of proposed improvements.

This segment is among four others that are currently being studied to provide similar solutions for traffic congestion east and west of what the 21-mile I-4 Ultimate project is expected to deliver. To learn more, please visit www.I4Express.com.