In early 2012, NCDOT issued a Request for Qualifications for the I-77 Express Lanes, and in March, it announced a shortlist of four qualified teams. The four potential bidders participated in over 70 meetings with NCDOT to help the Department refine the project scope and design. These one-on-one meetings also provided valuable input that helped NCDOT finalize the contract documents. NCDOT limited the state's contribution to the project to $170 million. Each bidder conducted an independent analysis to determine if it could meet the contract requirements and whether the project could generate enough revenue to cover the expected financing costs and generate a return on investment.
NCDOT issued its formal request for proposals to the shortlisted bidders on August 8, 2013. Competing teams submitted their bids on March 31, 2014. NCDOT evaluated the proposals using approximately 200 pass/fail criteria. On April 11, 2014, the Department announced the award of the I-77 Express Lanes concession to I-77 Mobility Partners. The consortium includes Cintra (a Spanish toll road operator and developer), Aberdeen Global Infrastructure Partners II LP, (a UK-based investment firm), Sugar Creek Construction LLC, (an American construction company) and Ferrovial Agroman, SA, (a construction subsidiary of the Spanish Infrastructure developer Ferrovial). I-77 Mobility Partners would build the project for $635.8 million, which was $30 million below NCDOT's estimate for the project. In addition, the consortium only required $94.9 million in public contribution from NCDOT.