Where VDOT raised the bar on its procurement of I-66, the Trump administration fell down in underwriting its first P3 loan, which was finally approved in late October, a year after VDOT had signed its project development agreement with private investors.
The $1.2-billion TIFIA loan was a critical element in the project financing for I-66. Yet the financial close was delayed repeatedly while the new leadership at USDOT re-reviewed loan documents that had been nearly finalized before they arrived early this year.