Best Best & Krieger LLP was part of a team that advised and counseled the Riverside County Transportation Commission in its successful effort to secure a $152.2 million loan from the U.S. Department of Transportation through the newly formed Build America Bureau. The loan is part of a financing plan that leverages federal low-interest credit assistance through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program to complete its I-15 Express Lanes Corridor Project. BB&K attorneys John Rottschaefer, Steve DeBaun, Haviva Shane and Gregory Rodriguez assisted in the matter.
 
The TIFIA funds will help ensure that project construction begins as scheduled using the design-build construction delivery method. The congestion-relieving project will be built along a 14.6-mile corridor between the Cajalco Road interchange near the City of Corona to just south of State Route 60. Once complete, this major north-south Southern California artery will have:

• new managed lanes in both directions,
• new retaining walls,
• stormwater runoff treatment services,
• 11 bridge widenings,
•  tie-ins to the existing travel lanes,
• an electronic toll collection system,
• a customer service center, and
• a traffic management system.

The project will address current and future congestion issues and improve efficiency and reliability of goods movement from the country’s largest port complex, and is projected to create more than 3,300 jobs during construction and 525 permanent jobs after completion.