Skip to main content

Texas route benefits from loan

Drivers in Texas using the SH161 route are set to benefit from a US$418 million loan being provided by the US Department of Transportation to complete work on the link.
March 1, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
Drivers in Texas using the SH161 route are set to benefit from a US$418 million loan being provided by the 2364 US Department of Transportation to complete work on the link. Approval has been given for the loan for the final phase of the construction work on SH161 in Dallas County.

SH161 will extend the roadway from State Highway 183 to Interstate 20 approximately 18km along the western boundary of Dallas County. It will provide a natural extension to the heavily congested President George Bush Turnpike. A substantial portion of SH 161 is already complete and generating revenue through tolls. The 2363 North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) will use the loan to repay bond notes issued to finance the construction of the project. "The Highway 161 project will reduce traffic congestion and improve mobility for commercial drivers and commuters in the Dallas area," LaHood said.

SH 161 will serve as a major link within the Dallas-Fort Worth regional transportation network, reducing congestion along adjacent corridors and improving transport in the area. Overall, the project will ensure smoother and more efficient traffic flow of workers and goods by creating a parallel route to the currently congested State Highway 360. The Department's Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, which provides credit assistance for infrastructure projects, provided the estimated $418.4 million loan. It will be drawn when construction is substantially complete on the $1.2 billion toll road. NTTA has pledged to set tolls to repay the loan.

The TIFIA loan was made possible through an 1088 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant. Drivers in Texas using the SH161 route are set to benefit from a US$418 million loan being provided by the US Department of Transportation to complete work on the link.

Approval has been given for the loan for the final phase of the construction work on SH161 in Dallas County. SH161 will extend the roadway from State Highway 183 to Interstate 20 approximately 18km along the western boundary of Dallas County. It will provide a natural extension to the heavily congested President George Bush Turnpike. A substantial portion of SH 161 is already complete and generating revenue through tolls. The North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) will use the loan to repay bond notes issued to finance the construction of the project. "The Highway 161 project will reduce traffic congestion and improve mobility for commercial drivers and commuters in the Dallas area," LaHood said.

SH 161 will serve as a major link within the Dallas-Fort Worth regional transportation network, reducing congestion along adjacent corridors and improving transport in the area. Overall, the project will ensure smoother and more efficient traffic flow of workers and goods by creating a parallel route to the currently congested State Highway 360. The Department's Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, which provides credit assistance for infrastructure projects, provided the estimated $418.4 million loan. It will be drawn when construction is substantially complete on the $1.2 billion toll road. NTTA has pledged to set tolls to repay the loan. The TIFIA loan was made possible through an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant.

Related Content

  • Texan tolling
    February 7, 2012
    Work is now underway on the new DFW Connector near Dallas, in the US state of Texas. This is of note as it is the largest investment of Recovery Act (ARRA) investment in a highway project so far.
  • Upgrades underway for Tarrant tollway in Texas
    September 20, 2013
    Financing has been found to fund construction work on the North Tarrant Express (NTE) in Texas. The public-private partnership project for Segment 3A of the route will be carried out by NTE Mobility Partners Segments 3 LLC (NTEMP3). The rebuilding of the I-35W road close to Fort Worth will help reduce traffic congestion on the route at peak periods. The public-private partnership has been agreed between NTEMP3, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the North Central Texas Council of Governments
  • Key link on track in US
    April 25, 2012
    Work on the DFW Connector project in Texas is now 50% complete. When it is finished, the DFW Connector project will reduce congestion for drivers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The DFW Connector is the largest investment of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, US$260 million, in a highway project.
  • $127 million Austin, Texas road extension
    April 17, 2025
    A $127 million extension to a toll road in Austin, Texas road is being proposed.