I-77

A consortium led by Ferrovial subsidiary Cintra Infrastructures has been selected to design, build and finance 26 miles of the I-77 in North Carolina, US.

The $655m project will also see the consortium operate and maintain the road under a 50-year concession contract, which begins once it is open to traffic, likely to be in mid-2018.

The design and construction will be executed by a joint venture comprising Ferrovial Agroman and US construction company W.C. English, which is set to start in early 2015.

"It is a privilege for Cintra to be part of the solution to the traffic congestion problem in Charlotte, North Carolina."

The design phase includes road widening in both directions of the I-77 section in the metropolitan area north of Charlotte, which is between the junctions with the I-277 in Charlotte and the NC-150 in Iredell County.

In addition, the existing highway will be reconstructed and capacity will be increased by creating managed lanes to help reduce congestion and improve traffic flow.

Cintra CEO Enrique Díaz-Rato said: "It is a privilege for Cintra to be part of the solution to the traffic congestion problem in Charlotte, North Carolina."

Image: The contract involves work on North Carolina’s I-77. Photo: courtesy of Ferrovial.