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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.

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