The Chicago Skyway was financed and constructed by the City of Chicago in the mid-1950's and was opened for traffic in 1958. The Skyway is a 7.8 mile long road and bridge facility that connects the western end of the Indiana Toll Road with the Dan Ryan Expressway (a non-tolled road) that provides access to downtown Chicago.
In March 2004, the City issued a Request of Concessionaire Qualifications as the initial step in leasing the Skyway to a private operator. The City's motivation was to raise cash (in the form of an upfront concession rent) to be used by the City to fund various municipal needs and, in the process, to eliminate a non-core municipal operation. Bids from qualified bidders were received by the City in October, 2004 and a consortium comprised of Macquarie Investment Holdings and Cintra Concessiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte S.A. was declared the winning bidder. The concession transaction was completed in January 2005. Table 4 presents financial and corporate information on Chicago Skyway before privatization.
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