Project Profile: Transform 66 Outside the Beltway

Fairfax and Prince William Counties, Virginia

Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)/ I-66 Express Mobility Partners LLC

Highway / Express Lanes

The Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project reconstructed and expanded 22.5 miles of I-66 in Virginia from the I-495 Capital Beltway to US 29 in Gainesville. This section of I-66 previously had three general-purpose lanes in each direction between I-495 and US 50 in Fairfax and two general-purpose lanes in each direction west of US 50. The corridor also included a single HOV lane in each direction. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Metrorail runs along the median of I-66 from the Capital Beltway 2.5 miles west to the Vienna/Fairfax Metro Station.

The project included:

• Expanding the existing HOV lanes to two tolled express lanes in each direction that operate as HOV3+ along the full corridor to University Blvd. in Gainesville where the express lanes transition to a single HOV lane in each direction.
• Expanding the existing general-purpose lanes to three lanes in each direction along the full corridor.
• Rebuilding or modifying 12 interchanges to enhance safety and reduce congestion, modifying or adding collector-distributor roads, and providing bridge and utility upgrades
• Constructing more than 4,000 new park-and-ride parking spaces with convenient access to the express lanes.
• 18 miles of new shared-use path along and near I-66.
• Preserving a minimum 42-foot median for future transit use.
• Providing new and expanded bus service along the corridor.

The project was built to improve safety and alleviate peak congestion, which extended across four to five hours in both the a.m. and p.m. peak periods, with speeds as low as 10-15 mph.

The project was delivered under a 50-year design-build-finance-operate-maintain public-private partnership concession. The private partner's investment included an upfront payment of approximately $500 million that VDOT is using to fund additional transportation improvements in the corridor. The concession agreement also requires the private partner to pay a net present value of $800 million for transit service in the corridor and $350 million for other projects to improve the I-66 corridor over the life of the concession.

$3.724 billion (TIFIA eligible project costs)

• $2.41 billion (total construction cost including civil works, right of way, building, O&M, and toll systems)

TIFIA loan - $1,229 million

Private Activity Bonds - $737 million

Virginia State Infrastructure Bank loan - $39.0 million

Equity contribution - $1,525 million

I-66 Express Mobility Partners LLC

Equity Investors:

• Meridiam Infrastructure North America Fund II
• Cintra Global Ltd.
• Cintra Infraestructuras S.E.
• APG Group
• John Laing

Design-builder:

• Ferrovial Agroman US Corp.
• Allan Myers VA, Inc.

Lead Engineers:

• Janssen & Spaans Engineering, Inc.
• The Louis Berger Group, Inc.
• American Structurepoint 

To VDOT:

• Financial Advisor - KPMG
• Legal Advisor - Hunton & Williams
• Technical Advisor - CH2M Hill

To I-66 Express Mobility Partners:

• Financial Advisor - Rubicon Infrastructure Advisors
• Legal Advisor - Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
• Technical Advisor - Steer Davies Gleave
• Model Auditor - Mazars

To USDOT Build America Bureau:

• TIFIA Financial Advisor - Scully Capital Services, Inc.
• TIFIA Secondary Financial Advisor - Project Finance Advisory Ltd.
• TIFIA Traffic and Revenue Risk Advisor - Booz Allen Hamilton
• TIFIA Legal Advisor - Skadden Arps Meagher & Flom LLP

USDOT Build America Bureau, Bondholders

Commercial close achieved December 2016.

Financial close achieved November 9, 2017.

Construction started in late 2017 and reached substantial completion in November 2022, one month ahead of schedule.

Concession term, including construction - 50 years.

Direct Loan - $1,229 million

TIFIA credit agreement was signed on November 7, 2017.

• The I-66 express lanes include connections to the I-495 Capital Beltway express lanes, further expanding Northern Virginia's network of express lanes that also includes those on I-95 and along I-395.
• The Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project complements the Transform 66 Inside the Beltway project east of the Capital Beltway to Route 29 in Rosslyn. That project converted the existing HOV lanes to express lane operation during peak periods.

VDOT Project Website

VDOT Office of Public-Private Partnerships