Summary
The Public Finance Team served as bond counsel to the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission in connection with its $310.2 million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act financing through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau. The financing represents a significant federal credit transaction for one of Hampton Roads’ most important transportation initiatives.
The Challenge
The financing supports the Hampton Roads Express Lanes Network, a regionally significant transportation project designed to improve mobility, reduce congestion and provide more reliable travel choices along the I-64 corridor in Hampton Roads. The project involves complex public infrastructure, toll revenue and federal credit components, requiring careful coordination among regional, state and federal stakeholders. It also required a financing approach capable of supporting long-term construction and operational needs while preserving flexibility for a large, multi-phase transportation program.
Our Strategy
Kaufman & Canoles advised HRTAC in its role as bond counsel, helping support a financing structure that aligned with public finance requirements, federal credit program considerations and the long-term funding needs of the express lanes network. The team’s work reflected its experience with transportation infrastructure financings, public authority issuers and sophisticated revenue-backed obligations. The firm helped coordinate the legal framework for the financing and worked with the financing team to address the public finance, federal credit and toll revenue issues necessary to move the transaction forward.
The Result
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau approved a TIFIA loan providing up to $310.2 million in federal credit assistance for the Hampton Roads Express Lanes Network. The financing helps advance a critical regional transportation initiative, supports continued investment in the region’s transportation network and demonstrates the Public Finance Team’s continued role in major public infrastructure projects across Virginia.
