Portsmouth Bypass

credit agreement executed

The Portsmouth Bypass is a $634 million, 16-mile, four-lane, limited-access highway around the City of Portsmouth in Scioto County in South Central Ohio. The project will also provide a largely access controlled alternative to I-77 and I-75 for motorists making trips between southern Ohio and the Columbus region, saving over 70 miles on some trips. The project is being delivered as an availability payment design-build-finance-operate-maintain (DBFOM) concession. The term of the concession is expected to extend for 35 years. The project is the first availability payment P3 concession in Ohio.  According to the project, public benefits include: correcting deficiencies in the existing system, improving regional mobility, enhancing the region’s competitive advantage for businesses, and decreasing crash rates.  Designated as State Route 823, the project will improve regional mobility to provide travel time savings of up to 16 minutes per trip compared to the current route. Given the rural nature of the County, this project and subsequent development could also have a material impact on the County’s high unemployment rates.  The State estimates the financial structure, including the TIFIA loan, accelerates delivery of the project and benefits by 8 years.