The lawyers of Kaplan Kirsch develop and implement effective strategies for the finance, delivery and approval of, or opposition to, highway projects throughout the country. We represent state and local governments in seeking Federal Highway Act, environmental, land use and other permits for highway projects. We have assisted state departments of transportation, local governments and others on public-private partnerships in building, financing, designing, operating and maintaining highway and multi-modal facilities. Our lawyers have also worked with state and local governments on innovative tolled and non-tolled finance projects.
Representative Experience
Central 70 Project: Kaplan Kirsch lawyers represented the Colorado Department of Transportation, High-Performance Transportation Enterprise and Bridge Enterprise as both project delivery counsel and environmental/litigation counsel, for the complex Central 70 project on I-70. The project replaced an aging interstate viaduct in central Denver with a below-grade, covered segment of the interstate with greater capacity. This cover reconnected a community which had been divided during original construction of the highway. This availability payment P3 project was financed through a combination of federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance Act loans and private activity bonds and backed by an inventive Bridge Enterprise credit. The procurement and contracting structure incorporated a number of innovations involving the firm, resulting in the project being the only dual-award winner for the 2018 P3 Bulletin awards. The project also received the “Community Impact of the Year Award” in 2019 from American Road & Transportation Builders Association.
San Bernardino County Transportation Authority: We represented the authority on a procurement to replace the Mount Vernon Viaduct using a design-build approach. The existing viaduct spans the largest intermodal rail yard in California’s Inland Empire. We are separately representing SBCTA on a project to bore a tunnel, for use by autonomous vehicles, from Ontario Airport to Rancho Cucamonga, where it would connect to current regional and future high-speed rail service.
O’Hare Express System Project: The team advised the City of Chicago and the Chicago Infrastructure Trust on the O’Hare Express System Project to bring rapid transportation service between Downtown Chicago and O’Hare International Airport. Under the selected approach, Elon Musk’s The Boring Company would have deployed its proprietary boring technology to complete two tunnels through which modified autonomous vehicles would travel on ‘skates.’ The project scope contemplated that The Boring Company would design, construct, finance, operate and maintain the project with no City funding provided.
Highway P3 Proposal Protest: A state DOT called in our firm to advise on a protest arising out of procurement of a multi-billion dollar highway P3 program project. We counseled the DOT through the protest process, including preparation of filings and support of a hearing to decide the outcome of the protest.
Highway Proposal Challenge: We helped a Colorado local government seeking to stop or mitigate a detrimental beltway proposal and implement preferred highway improvements.
Construction of a highway interchange: Kaplan Kirsch represented one of the largest entertainment firms in the world on issues under the National Environmental Policy Act, Department of Transportation Act Section 4(f) and National Historic Preservation Act for construction of a new highway interchange to serve a proposed theme park.
