WASHINGTON—A new report released today from UNITE HERE details bankruptcies, a lack of transparency and other controversies surrounding projects led by Spanish firm Ferrovial and its affiliates.

Ferrovial is a key member of I-66 Express Mobility Partners, a company the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) selected for its short list of eligible bidders for the I-66 Outside the Beltway toll road project. VDOT could decide to partner with Ferrovial’s company on the $2.1 billion project.

The new report details the recent performance of Ferrovial and its affiliates. The report identifies the following concerns:

• Bankruptcy: Of Ferrovial’s four completed U.S. projects, two have filed for bankruptcy.
• Public Controversy: After a Ferrovial affiliate signed a contract to expand toll roads in North Carolina, the state House of Representatives voted by a three-to-one margin to cancel the agreement, and the project has become a focal point of the governor’s race.
• Lack of Transparency: Ferrovial affiliates and the public entities with which they contracted have refused to release basic information, such as traffic projections, about their public-private partnerships.
• Toll Increases: Tolls on an Ontario highway managed by a Ferrovial company rose to as high as 62 cents per mile this year.
• Missed Projections: Moody’s reported that in fiscal year 2014, traffic on Texas State Highway 130, then operated by a Ferrovial company, would be 70 percent below the initial forecast.

The $2.1 billion I-66 Outside the Beltway project will shape Virginia’s transportation infrastructure for decades to come. This new report aims to warn decision makers, elected officials and the public about the potential risks of partnering with Ferrovial’s I-66 Express Mobility Partners.