- The bridge, which is the largest project in the history of LADOTD, is scheduled for completion in 2031 with a forecasted average daily traffic of more than 90,000 cars by 2040.
ACCIONA, a leading global renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure company, in partnership with Sacyr and Plenary Americas, has executed the comprehensive agreement with the Louisiana Department of Transport and Development (LADOTD) to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the new I-10 Calcasieu River Bridge in Louisiana (USA). The new US$2.1 billion (€1.9 billion) bridge, as part of the I-10 interstate highway, will replace the 70-year-old existing crossing, dramatically increasing capacity and improving safety.
The bridge, which is the largest project in the history of LADOTD, is scheduled for completion in 2031 with a forecasted average daily traffic of more than 90,000 cars by 2040. The crossing is expected to reduce congestion, improve travel times, and increase safety on a critical piece of infrastructure both for Louisiana and the wider national interstate highway network.
The construction work will be carried out by a joint venture between ACCIONA (50%) and Sacyr (50%). It includes the construction of six lanes of interstate highway, various additional structures, the implementation of a 'free flow' toll and the elimination of the existing bridge. The new infrastructure will be built with environmentally-friendly construction techniques to minimize impact on the Lake Charles area. The bridge is one of the largest infrastructure contracts commissioned in North America over the last year.
The final design, intended to preserve and recognize the heritage of the historic bridge, will be determined in cooperation with the Louisiana State government and the local community. It will replace the existing bridge, which opened in the 1952 and is one of the state’s most heavily travelled crossings, currently used by more than 70,000 cars and trucks daily. The American Road & Transportation Builders Association has classified the bridge as functionally obsolete and structurally deficient.
The term of the operation and maintenance of the project will be 50 years and it will be carried out by an equity consortium comprised of ACCIONA (30%), Plenary Americas (40%) and Sacyr (30%). Under the signed comprehensive agreement, the State of Louisiana shall also have rights to collect 15% of the future dividends of the project.
KEY MARKET
The USA is a strategic market for ACCIONA, as the company is expanding its presence in the infrastructure landscape, adding to its growing portfolio of renewable energy assets. ACCIONA entered the USA market in 2008 when it was awarded the Tampa Bay desalination plant (Florida), which supplies water to 2.5 million people. In 2021 it was awarded its first Public-Private Partnership (P-3) project, the Fargo (North Dakota)-Moorhead (Minnesota) flood diversion channel, which will protect more than 235,000 people from the catastrophic effects of potential flooding from the Red River.
In renewable energy, ACCIONA Energía operates more than 1,000MW of wind energy and more than 800MW of solar energy in the USA. In 2023 it completed the largest battery energy storage project in Texas (Cunningham, 190MW/380MWh), its first photovoltaic development in the US, also located in Texas (Fort Bend, 316MW) and another photovoltaic plant in Illinois (High Point, 100MW).
Discover the project here.