Plans by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) to cash out its expensive TIFIA loans for the South Bay Expressway (SBX) have encountered some of the same ill winds that sank the private project 10 years ago, when it was owned by Macquarie.

Soon after it opened in 2007, the greenfield toll road saw traffic fall to half of projections due to the recession. All development stopped, foreclosures shot up, and unemployment hit 14%. Legal expenses to fight contractor claims quickly did Macquarie in.