Chicago Skyway

One of the most well-known examples of a long-term lease agreement P3 in the U.S. is the Chicago Skyway, an eight mile toll road connecting the Dan Ryan Expressway on Chicago's South Side with the Indiana Toll Road. In 2005, the city of Chicago entered into an agreement with a private consortium of Spanish and Australian toll road developers to operate and maintain the Skyway for 99 years. The consortium paid the city $1.8 billion upfront. It will collect all toll revenue during the period to fund the road's operation and maintenance, to repay the debt that financed the $1.8 billion payment and to provide a reasonable return on its members' contribution of equity. Under the agreement, toll rate increases are fixed through 2017 (for cars they will gradually rise from $2.50 to $5) and capped thereafter at the greater of 2 percent, the consumer price index or per capita gross domestic product.

The $1.8 billion upfront concession payment the city received was used for a variety of purposes: $463 million was used to repay the outstanding debt on the road; $392 million is being used to pay down the city's general obligation debt; and $875 million was placed into long-term and medium-term reserve funds.6