Skip to main content

IRF awards Parsons for its East End Crossing work in the US

The International Road Federation (IRF) has awarded its Global Road Achievement Award for project finance and economics to Parsons for the East End Crossing of the Ohio River Bridges Project. Parsons, which served as the technical advisor for the implementation of a public-private partnership (PPP), received the award for achievements in cost savings and accelerated project delivery. This was done through the PPP procurement process for the development, design, construction, financing, operation and m
August 7, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
East End Crossing Bridge (artist impression)
The International Road Federation (IRF) has awarded its Global Road Achievement Award for project finance and economics to 3220 Parsons for the East End Crossing of the Ohio River Bridges Project.

Parsons, which served as the technical advisor for the implementation of a public-private partnership (PPP), received the award for achievements in cost savings and accelerated project delivery.

This was done through the PPP procurement process for the development, design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of the cable-stayed bridge, the Indiana state approach and a portion of the Kentucky state approach.

The IRF, a non-government, not-for-profit membership organisation in Washington, DC, encourages and promotes development and maintenance of better, safer and more sustainable roads and road networks around the world.
 
A statement from Parsons noted that the P3 East End Crossing project will save $228 million in construction costs over the original estimate and will be completed, on an accelerated schedule, 242 days prior to the Indiana Finance Authority’s (IFA’s) timeline in its Request for Proposal.

In addition, the project will be completed eight years sooner than what would be likely under a traditional design-bid-build method of project delivery. At $677 million, the project finance plan includes the largest issuance to date of private activity bonds for a transportation P3 project.

“The East End Crossing is a ground-breaking P3 project within the Louisville-Southern Indiana region and a major part of the project’s success was the coordination among all of the stakeholders, including other contractors, state transportation agencies and the public,” said Todd Wager, Parsons group president.

“We’re proud to partner once again with 2855 Indiana Department of Transportation and IFA and help achieve this P3 procurement in less than 13 months from start to financial close. It’s a rare achievement for a transportation procurement of this size,” he said.
 
The Ohio River Bridges project involves the design and construction of two bridges – the East End Crossing and the Downtown Crossing -- over the Ohio River to connect the states of Kentucky and Indiana in the Louisville-Southern Indiana metropolitan area. It also involves more than 100 highway bridges, a 518m hard-rock tunnel and over 100 right-of-way acquisitions.

The East End Crossing, being built by the Indiana Department of Transportation, will connect Prospect, a neighbourhood of the city Louisville in Kentucky state, and the town of Utica, in Indiana state. The bridge will complete a highway loop around the Louisville-Southern Indiana metropolitan area. The East End Crossing and another crossing, the Downtown Crossing, are expected to be substantially completed by the end of 2016, according to Parsons.

The Downtown Crossing, being built by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, will increase capacity and improve safety on the existing I-65 crossing between downtown Louisville and the city of Jeffersonville in Indiana.

Parsons is currently providing an engineering technical team and construction management for the East End Crossing. In addition, Parsons was recently named tolling system advisor for the Ohio River Bridges Project. The company will oversee the toll system integrator and toll operator and advise on toll implementation policy and marketing services to Kentucky and Indiana states.

When finished, the two Ohio River bridges and the adjacent Kennedy Memorial Bridge will feature an all-electronic toll open-road collection system.
 
Parsons and The Ohio River Bridges Project were also recognised by the IRF in 2009 with the Global Road Achievement Award for programme management.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Tenders received for Mersey Gateway project
    April 10, 2013
    Tenders have now been received for the Mersey Gateway Project from all three shortlisted bidders competing to deliver the project on behalf of Halton Borough Council. The full and final tenders were delivered to the project’s offices overlooking the River Mersey ahead of the deadline. The project team and its expert advisors will now spend the next few weeks assessing the three bids. The bidding teams have spent the last 18 months working on their plans to become Halton Borough Council’s private sector par
  • A new tunnel project for Turkey is a significant move
    December 12, 2012
    The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supplying a finance package worth US$150 million for the new Bosphorus crossing project in Turkey. Running under the Bosphorus at Istanbul, the new tunnel will connect both European and Asian sides of the city. The EBRD’s $150 million loan completes $1.4 billion worth of financing required for the Eurasia Tunnel project, being built under the Bosphorus straits. Other components of the $1.4 billion financing package for this PPP project include a
  • Active travel can drive urban economic growth and save health funds
    November 7, 2012
    Experts in health, city planning, environment and transport from Europe and the United States, including several local authorities, stressed how active travel can drive urban economic growth and save public health funds during a recent prestigious workshop event in Brussels, Belgium. Integrating health aspects in transportation planning was the focus of The Polis Environment & Health working group meeting at the European Economic and Social committee on 30th October. The event gathered experts from organisa
  • Lower Thames Crossing contractor shortlist
    September 27, 2021
    The contractor shortlist has been announced for part of the Lower Thames Crossing.