U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Thursday that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau (the Bureau) had provided the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan of up to $225 million.
The loan will be put toward the I-10 Corridor Express Lane Project and will replace the current loan provided to SBCTA in April 2019. The loan will be used to finance construction costs associated with the 10-mile widening of the I-10 highway between Los Angeles County and the I-15 in San Bernardino County. The I-10 is one of the three national coast-to-coast interstate highways from California to Florida. Part of the Primary Freight Network, the I-10 is also an important route for goods movement between Southern California and the country.
Provided at a lower interest rate, the new loan is estimated to save the SBCTA as much as $53 million in nominal dollars and over $30 million in present value terms over the life of the loan, the DOT said. The savings will offset revenue losses incurred by the SBCTA during the pandemic and help accelerate additional planned network express lanes on the I-15 and the remainder of the I-10 in San Bernardino County.
The project is expected to reduce congestion and emissions, improve access to transit, improve safety, create jobs, and prepare for future growth in the area and at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.