If everything goes as planned, a team of international developers could break ground on a 33-mile elevated toll road along the State Road 54/56 corridor by the end of next year. And it could mean a nearly $100 million windfall for the Florida Department of Transportation as well through a “confidential” stipend.
A proposal from a development group that includes Gerald H. Stanley’s International Infrastructure Partners LLC was unsealed by the FDOT last week, asking for control of rights of way between Zephyrhills and New Port Richey to build a privately funded toll road. The FDOT sought out proposals after IIP made an unsolicited proposal last June to build such a road, creating mixed reaction from those who travel the corridor and those owning businesses along it.
The proposal provided no details about how much such a project would cost, although some rough estimates put that figure at more than $2 billion. However, the developers say it will create 1,000 direct jobs for the construction of the road.
On top of that, the partnership — officially known as Florida 54 Express LLC — has offered the FDOT a stipend of slightly more than $1 million a year over the course of the agreement to “offset any costs incurred by FDOT in its management of the agreement.” It’s not clear what that figure is based on or how much the state agency would have to spend each year to manage the agreement, but a citation in the proposal indicated this stipend offer was a “trade secret” by Florida 54 Express, and should remain confidential.
Kris Carson, a spokeswoman for the FDOT, told The Laker/Lutz News the offer was not redacted from the public proposal because the FDOT doesn’t do confidential stipends. She also added that while the agreement still needs to be negotiated, the FDOT does not require $1 million a year to manage the agreement.
The development group also is asking for a 99-year lease through an initial 45-year agreement with built-in conditions that would allow them to extend it another 54 years.
A 99-year lease is exactly what one group that has studied privately constructed roadways in-depth has recommended against. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund shared a report in 2009 authored by Phineas Baxandall that any agreements between the government and a private entity should clearly spell out expectations and not last more than 30 years.
That way, if the road struggles or fails, it won’t get caught in limbo for years while the legal and financial aspects are worked out, a lot of it at taxpayers’ expense.
Once again, even that aspect of the agreement would have to be negotiated, Carson said.
Joining IIP on the project is OHL Infrastructure Inc., an American subsidiary of Spain’s OHL Group. The century-old company boasts 25,000 employees in 20 countries, with total revenue in 2012 topping $5 billion, according to the road proposal.
OHL’s Brazilian operations controlled nearly 2,000 miles of toll roads in that country before selling a substantial portion of that subsidiary in 2012 to a group led by Brookfield Infrastructure of Toronto. It also operates toll roads in other countries, including Mexico and Spain, with some of them being similar in scope to what is proposed for Pasco County.
Financing for the project could come from a variety of sources, including banks and private activity bonds. The group also could explore using the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program, which provides loans and lines of credit to road projects. There are, however, limited funds available through that program, expected to reach $1 billion in 2014.
If constructed as planned, the finished toll road would not only provide an express route across the county, but also interconnect with other major arteries, including the Suncoast Parkway and Interstate 75, although the latter would require federal approval.
Although Florida 54 Express hopes to finish negotiations on the overall agreement by summer, the FDOT has not provided a timeline for its completion. The road developer also did not say when the first legs of the new system, if approved, would open.
