Skip to main content

Southern Ohio Veterans Memorial Highway ready for construction

Construction is about to start on the first public-private partnership highway project in the US state of Ohio. The Southern Ohio Veterans Memorial Highway, near the city of Portsmouth, will cost nearly US$228 million and is scheduled for completion in 2019, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). The Portsmouth Gateway Group will build the 25.8km, four-lane limited access highway from U.S. Route 23 north of Lucasville to U.S. Route 52 near Sciotoville. An ODOT statement said tha
April 13, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
Construction is about to start on the first public-private partnership highway project in the US state of Ohio.

The Southern Ohio Veterans Memorial Highway, near the city of Portsmouth, will cost nearly US$228 million and is scheduled for completion in 2019, according to the 7272 Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).

The Portsmouth Gateway Group will build the 25.8km, four-lane limited access highway from U.S. Route 23 north of Lucasville to U.S. Route 52 near Sciotoville.

An ODOT statement said that the project “has been in demand for decades and using innovative P3 [public-private partnership] financing allows ODOT to build it now and pay for it over 35 years, while still building other important projects around the state”.

The ODOT said the Southern Ohio Veterans Memorial Highway is the department’s “largest, modern earthwork project to date”. Construction crews will remove about 19 million cubic metres of earth and rock and place another 19 million cubic metres of embankment.

Leading the joint venture Portsmouth Gateway Group is construction contractor 4761 Dragados USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dragados, S.A., the construction arm of the ACS Group -- Actividades de Construccion y Servicios -- based in Madrid, Spain.

Dragados USA was set up in 2005 and has won several large transportation, marine, dam and reconstruction projects. These include the $1.2 billion East Side Access project in New York City and the $1.3 billion SR 99 Seattle Bored Tunnel in the northwestern state of Washington.

Other contractors include Beaver Excavating, one of Ohio’s largest heavy civil and highway infrastructure construction companies, and Ohio-based John R. Jurgensen, a specialist interstate and roadway construction and asphalt paving business

Lead engineering firm is the Ohio-based ms consultants, supported by specialised sub-consultants TranSystems, S&ME and Portsmouth area firms.

The project’s financing is accomplished through the use of $227.36 million in tax exempt private activity bonds with another $208 million provided through a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, or TIFIA, loan from the federal government in Washington. TIFIA Loans are low-interest loans for projects of national and regional significance.

The new highway will complete the Appalachian Development Highway System in Ohio and will improve safety in and around the city of Portsmouth and Scioto County by taking heavy truck traffic off city streets, the ODOT said.

Since 2012, “ODOT has been working to develop the project as a P3, which allows ODOT to accelerate the project by decades, and the department can avoid rising project costs by taking advantage of current competitive economic conditions”.

The ODOT said the Southern Ohio Veterans Memorial Highway is the department’s “largest, modern earthwork project to date”. Construction crews will remove about 25 million cubic yards of earth and rock and place another 25 million cubic yards of embankment.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Bentley announces award nominees
    March 21, 2012
    Software specialist Bentley Systems has announced the project finalists in the 2011 Be Inspired Awards competition and the four winners of the 2011 Be Inspired Special Recognition Awards. The awards honour the extraordinary work of Bentley users improving and sustaining the world's infrastructure. Five independent panels of jurors, comprising accomplished Bentley users and distinguished industry experts, selected the 59 finalists and the Special Recognition Awards candidates from nominations submitted by 27
  • Demolition starts on Seattle’s Alaska Way Viaduct
    June 14, 2019
    Demolition of the Alaska Way Viaduct in the northwest US city of Seattle is underway, including the filling in of a redundant road tunnel.
  • Republic of Ireland’s N25 New Ross Bypass achieves financial close
    March 3, 2016
    The €230 million N25 New Ross Bypass public-private partnership (PPP) project in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland has reached financial close. Mott MacDonald is technical advisor on the public-private partnership, awarded by the National Roads Authority, otherwise known as Transport Infrastructure Ireland. Work will be carried out by BAM Ireland and Dragados, a construction division of ACS Group, based in Spain. The scheme involves construction of 13.6km of dual carriageway and 1.2km of new or u
  • US$1.4 billion Seattle bridge replacement deal
    April 5, 2024
    Skanska will handle a US$1.4 billion Seattle bridge replacement project.