Project Financing and Implementation
| WVB East End Partners reached financial close for the project in March 2013. The concession company financed the East End Crossing project with a combination of equity and debt. The concession company is providing $78 million of its own equity to the project at risk. It is also using $507.8 million in long- and short-term tax-exempt bonds, called private activity bonds (PABs), issued on its behalf by IFA. The company will use a portion of its $392 million in milestone construction payments to repay the short-term PABs totaling $18.9 million. The remaining $488.9 million in long-term bonds will be repaid with the availability payments made through 2051. | Ohio River Bridges - East End Crossing
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The State of Indiana used a combination of Federal and state funds to cover the cost of the milestone payments. Milestone payment sources included a $162 million loan from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, which provides low cost, flexible credit assistance to transportation projects of national and regional significance. Additional Federal and state funding during construction from the States of Indiana and Kentucky amounted to $208.1 million and $88.0 million, respectively. Indiana also funded a $45 million Relief Events Allowance Account for contingency purposes. For the availability payments, Indiana is using a combination of toll revenues and other state and federal funds as necessary. The maximum availability payment during the first full year of operations is set at $43 million, growing over time based on a formula tied to future inflation at a pre-set rate.
Construction began on the East End Crossing on May 28, 2013, and the bridge opened on December 18, 2016, six months ahead of schedule. WVB East End Partners' 35-year operating concession will conclude in 2052.