Posted on 10/11/2016 1:03:45 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Continuing delays on the construction of Interstate 69 between Bloomington and Martinsville have led to another ratings downgrade on the bonds issued to help finance the project.
Standard & Poor’s has lowered its rating from BB+ to BB- on $244 million in bonds issued by the Indiana Finance Authority in 2014 for the interstate project.
“The rating action reflects our view of increased construction risk at the project, which is eight months behind schedule and about 56 percent complete,” S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Tony Bettinelli said in the ratings agency’s statement on the downgrade last week.
The 21-mile project, which involves upgrading Indiana 37 to interstate standards, began in 2014 and was originally supposed to be completed by October 2016. But this spring, planners changed the estimated completion date to June 2017 while they await a new construction schedule.
The state selected I-69 Development Partners LLC to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the project. I-69 Development Partners, in turn, selected Isolux Corsan as the project’s construction contractor.
Earlier this month, the Indiana Finance Authority issued a notice of non-performance to I-69 Development Partners, noting that Isolux Corsan owed more than $2.3 million to one of its subcontractors. That subcontractor, earth-moving company Crider & Crider Inc., halted work on the project because of the payment delay, the Associated Press reported.
S&P also kept its negative credit watch on the I-69 bonds, which the ratings agency said “reflects our uncertainty that construction efforts will adhere to the revised substantial completion date and that counterparty relationships could be further strained.”
I-69 Development Partners did not respond to an IBJ message seeking comment on the matter.
In March, S&P downgraded the bonds from BBB- to BB+, which according to that agency’s rating scale moved the bonds from the category of “investment grade” to “speculative grade.” S&P also placed the bonds on a negative credit watch at that time.
Fitch Ratings has downgraded the I-69 bonds twice: once in April and again in August. Fitch also cited project delays and contractor non-payments as reasons for its downgrades.
Credit ratings reflect a ratings agency’s opinion on the level of risk associated with a bond issue. Lower ratings reflect a higher degree of uncertainty about whether the issuer will meet its financial obligations.
I-69 seems to be taking longer to build than the original Interstate Highway system. They’ve been working on if for over 20 years but over half the distance between Houston and the Rio Grande Valley still hasn’t been built yet.
I moved to Indianapolis in 1980. I-69 was being talked about then.The forward thinkers nixed the idea of extending the highway thru town, citing costs, like it would cheaper in the future. I knew I would be dead and buried before it was completed.
Pence hit piece??
I noticed no one has mentioned how Kaine to “save” money closed down all the Virginia rest stops. Not only did he closed them down but he had all the toilets and sinks removed. McDonald had to refurbish and reopen them again when he became governor.
I moved back to IN in 1991. Environmentalists were fighting the highway back then by swarming my neighborhood for signatures against the highway. Just saying.
That is not a friendly way to treat vacationers to Virginia with no highway rest stops. Seems a waste of previously spent state funds.
No, it transcends Pence. It was and is about privatizing the roads, and that was/is actually part of the republican plan.
Gov Daniels sold the Indiana turnpike to private investors in 2006. They eventually went bankrupt and sold it to another group of private investors. The company mentioned in the article(Isolux Corsan) is made up of investors from Spain. Back in those days the two main investment groups were Macquarie from Australia and Cintra from Spain.
In Texas, it was organized as the Trans Texas Corridors
Also in 2006 there was the meeting of Bush, Fox, and Chretian and the conspiracy theorists were saying that privatizing the roads would lead to the North American Union.
And when Rick Perry's point man and former roommate wasn't able to deliver the state highway over to the Internationalists, he turned up dead. Don't bother to try to investigate - the body was cremated.
We drove that route for the first time at the beginning of September. It was a terrible mess! We wanted to go to Bloomington again last weekend with guests, but we remembered the construction and how long it took us to drive 20 ish miles, so we went somewhere else instead. I’m sure people in the area must be frustrated with the slow progress.
privatize all interstates
Kaine only closed down some of them, but it was still a long time for travelers to hold their bladders.
No one is fighting this in Texas. South Texas needs the improvement in connection to the Interstate system. In fact there will be 2 north - south highways parallel to each other that will be called I-69 in the Rio Grande Valley. Corpus Christi wasn't connected till 1981 when I-37 finally was finished between San Antontio and Corpus Christi. That was 10 years after the original system was supposed to be finished. Parts of US-77 (which will be part of I-69) between Corpus Christi and Houston were still one lane each direction till 1987. US-77 still goes right through the town of Refugio.
I was against it as well. Still am. Not surprised of cost overruns. And Pence has nothing to do with it.
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