Balfour Beatty Rail Team moving on Denver’s Eagle P3 Commuter Rail Project

Written by jrood

Balfour Beatty Rail, Inc., an industry-leading rail infrastructure contractor, as part of the Denver Transit Partners (DTP) team, reached financial close and received official notice to proceed from the Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) to construct the multi-billion dollar Eagle P3 commuter rail project. The DTP team will design, build, operate, maintain and finance the Eagle P3 Project. Groundbreaking is scheduled for August 26, 2010.

The notice to proceed was
given concurrently with reaching financial close in New York. DTP arranged for
$452 million in private financing, including $397.8 million in Private Activity
Bonds. DTP’s concession contract includes the six-year design-build phase of
the Eagle Project followed by 30-year period of privatized operations and
maintenance.

"After more than two years
of groundwork, Balfour Beatty Rail, working as a DTP partner with RTD, has
accomplished what is truly an industry-leading approach to the way large,
complex and much needed public projects can be constructed, funded and
delivered in the United States," said Jim Moynihan, president and CEO of
Balfour Beatty Rail. "We are energized and ready to break ground on this
momentous project that will benefit the city of Denver for years to come."

The Eagle Project is part
of RTD’s FasTracks Plan, a 12-year multi-billion dollar transit expansion
program to build and operate new commuter and light rail services and expand
transportation offerings throughout the eight-county area. The Eagle Project is
a public private partnership that includes:

• East Corridor: a new 22.8-mile
commuter rail line from Union Station to Denver International Airport;

• Gold Line: a new 11.2-mile
commuter rail line from Union Station to Wheat Ridge;

• A two-mile initial
segment of the Northwest Rail Corridor; and

• A new commuter rail
maintenance facility.

Balfour Beatty Rail’s roles
on the project include a 50 percent share of the engineering, procurement and
construction contract as well as a 33 percent share in the operations and
maintenance contract.

At the financial closing in
New York, DTP partner Macquarie Capital conveyed its 90-percent interest to
subsidiaries of two international infrastructure investment groups, John Laing
plc and Uberior Investments, a unit of Lloyds Banking Group. Led by Fluor, John
Laing plc, and Uberior Investments, the DTP team includes a group of transit
industry experts including Balfour Beatty Rail, Macquarie Capital Group
Limited, Ames Construction, Hyundai-Rotem USA (Hyundai), Alternative Concepts,
Inc. (ACI), Fluor/HDR Global Design Consultants, PBS&J, Parsons
Brinckerhoff, Interfleet Technology, Systra, Wabtec and many others.

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