Three roads, one lead investor.

Who owns each express lane concession in Dallas-Fort Worth, what the public put in, and how long the deal lasts.

Investor based outside the USInvestor based in Texas

I-820SH 121/183

North Tarrant Express

About 13 miles from I-35W in north Fort Worth east to Euless. Operating since 2014. Run by NTE Mobility Partners.

Ownership
Investor	Share	Bar
Cintra (Ferrovial)	62.9%
Meridiam	37.1%

Cintra's 62.9% stake as reported in 2023.⁴ The Dallas Police and Fire Pension System was a partner when the deal was signed but is not listed among the equity holders funding the current expansion.¹³

How the original $2.05 billion was paid for²
Source	Amount	Who repays it
TxDOT public funds	$573M	Not repaid. A state grant.
Federal TIFIA loan	$650M	Repaid from tolls
Private activity bonds	$400M	Repaid from tolls
Investor equity	$426M	Earns a return from tolls

The contract runs through 2061.⁴ It required the operator to add capacity once traffic hit certain levels, and that's happening now: a $414 million project adding a toll lane each way on SH 183 and a free lane each way on I-820, due to finish in early 2027. The operator says no taxpayer money is involved and the work is funded through toll revenue under the concession.³²²

In 2025, NTE's traffic fell 4.7% because of that construction, but revenue still rose 8.1%. The state received $8.1 million as its share of excess revenue that year.¹⁶

I-35W

NTE 35W

About 17 miles from downtown Fort Worth north to Eagle Parkway near Alliance. Opened in stages from 2017 to 2023. Run by NTE Mobility Partners Segments 3.

Ownership⁵
Investor	Share	Bar
Cintra (Ferrovial)	53.7%
APG	28.8%
Meridiam	17.5%

How it was paid for
Segment	Public money	Private financing
3A: I-30 to north of I-820	$164M from TxDOT and the regional council of governments⁶	$532M federal TIFIA loan and $274M in bonds, both repaid from tolls, plus investor equity⁶
3B: north of I-820 to US 81/287	Built by TxDOT	None. The consortium operates and tolls it.⁶⁷
3C: to Eagle Parkway	None, per the operator⁵	$160M equity and $750M in bonds⁸

Segment 3B stands out: the state paid to build it, and the private consortium collects the tolls. Operations and maintenance run until 2061.⁷

In 2025, NTE 35W's revenue rose 14.7% and the state received $26.4 million as its share of excess revenue.¹⁶

I-635I-35E

LBJ Express

About 17 miles of I-635 between I-35E and US 75, plus I-35E from Loop 12 to I-635 in Dallas. Opened in 2015. Run by LBJ Infrastructure Group.

Ownership at opening⁹
Investor	Share	Bar
Cintra (Ferrovial)	51.0%
APG	26.5%
Meridiam	15.9%
Dallas Police and Fire Pension System	6.6%

How it was paid for¹⁰
Source	Amount	Who repays it
TxDOT capital contribution	$490M	Not repaid. A state contribution.
Federal TIFIA loan	$850M	Repaid from tolls
Private activity bonds	$615M	Repaid from tolls
Investor equity	$672M	Earns a return from tolls

The concession expires in September 2061.¹⁰ Texas keeps ownership of the land and the road.¹¹ LBJ's revenue rose 8.6% in 2025 while traffic stayed flat.¹⁶

How the price gets to $20

Toll prices on these lanes change with traffic and are recalculated every five minutes, around the clock.¹³ The goal written into the contracts is to keep the toll lanes moving at a minimum of 50 mph. When NBC 5 DFW looked into a $24 posted toll on the NTE, the operator said there was a normal cap of about $1.06 per mile, but the contract with TxDOT lets prices go past it when needed to hold that speed.¹²

Ferrovial calls those high-demand periods "mandatory mode," and it has told investors that more time in mandatory mode helped lift revenue per trip.¹⁷ In 2025, revenue per trip grew far faster than inflation on all three roads:¹⁵

Change in revenue per trip, 2025 vs 2024
Road	Change
NTE	+13.4%
NTE 35W	+11.6%
LBJ	+8.7%
US inflation	+2.9%

What Texas got in return

A fair accounting has to include the other side. These deals rebuilt the free main lanes and frontage roads on all three corridors, years earlier than state funding alone would have. Investors carry the risk if traffic falls short, which matters: another Cintra-led toll road, SH 130 near Austin, went bankrupt when revenue missed projections.²¹ The state shares in revenue above set levels, and the roads come back fully to TxDOT when the contracts end.¹⁶

The question is whether that trade still makes sense for drivers paying surge prices today, and what the public should be allowed to know and change for the next 35 years.

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