The PPP for the Northwest Parkway illustrates similar advantages. The Northwest Parkway is a 9-mile toll road northwest of Denver, Colorado. The toll road extends the E-470 toll road west and south to 96th Street in Broomfield and is the most recently constructed portion of an incomplete beltway around the Denver area. The Northwest Parkway was developed by a public authority (the "NWP Authority") consisting of three member jurisdictions, the City and County of Broomfield, the City of Lafayette, and Weld County. Ex-officio members are Jefferson County, the City of Arvada, the Regional Transportation District, the Interlocken Metropolitan District, and the Colorado Department of Transportation. The NWP Authority financed the project with non-recourse toll revenue bonds to be repaid with toll revenues. The road opened to traffic in 2003. As with the Pocahontas Parkway, toll revenues on the Northwest Parkway were less than originally forecast and the NWP Authority decided to convert the project to a long-term, concession-based PPP.
After a competitive bidding process in which the NWP Authority qualified 11 private sector groups to submit proposals, the NWP Authority entered into a 99-year concession on August 29, 2007, with a consortium made up of Brisa Auto-Estradas de Portugal, S.A., a Portuguese toll road operator, and Compania de Concessoes Rodoviarias, a Brazilian toll road operator ("Brisa/CCR"). Like the concession for the Pocahontas Parkway and its refinancing, this PPP incorporated innovative features that addressed local needs. The NWP Authority did not "simply accept the highest bid," but rather provided "strong final values for [its] multiple member jurisdictions."31
The total price of the concession paid by Brisa/CCR was $543 million. The majority of this money was used to pay off existing NWP Authority debt and to make a $50 million upfront rent payment to the NWP Authority. In addition, to facilitate the further extension of the Northwest Parkway, the price included $40 million to be placed in escrow and released to the NWP Authority if the Northwest Parkway is extended within a specified period of time. Brisa/CCR also promised to pay an additional $60 million towards the extension of the Northwest Parkway if the extension is completed on time. Brisa/CCR is required to share revenue with the NWP Authority after certain revenue levels are reached.32
By committing to local transportation improvements that benefit the region, the private partners in both the Pocahontas Parkway and the Northwest Parkway transactions demonstrated the ability of PPPs not only to shore up the financial status of struggling facilities, but also to facilitate local solutions that benefit both the public and private sectors.
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31 Northwest Parkway and Brisa/CCR Sign Final $603 million, 99-year Leasing Concession Agreement, Northwest Parkway Public Highway Authority, News Release, August 29, 2007.
32 Summary of Northwest Parkway Concession and Lease Agreement, Northwest Parkway Public Highway Authority.