ACS and Acciona have taken Tennessee’s award of the Nashville I-24 express-lanes concession to court, seeking clarity on whether bidders were treated equally. The 50-year project is valued at $9.2bn.
Commercial close came on 30 September, putting the 50-year I-24 Southeast concession on the path to financial close. Now Tennessee’s award is facing a court challenge from the rival consortium led by ACS and Acciona. The state selected the Ferrovial-led DriveTN consortium on 19 August 2026 for a project covering about 42 kilometres between I-40 east of Nashville and I-840 near Murfreesboro.
Sources familiar with the case told EFE the companies want to establish whether Tennessee’s selection process was transparent and treated bidders equally. The 24 Choice Lanes Partners consortium includes ACS and Acciona, with Meridiam as a partner. It has sought tender records under the Tennessee Public Records Act, taking its request for the full award file to Davidson County Chancery Court. The initial aim was to obtain documents, not immediately seek cancellation of the award. The consortium had already sent several requests for clarification to the state department, but received no response.
The court challenge is separate from the US proposal for a charge on Spanish-flagged ships, covered in an earlier report.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure, or NDOT, selected DriveTN last August. The consortium also includes Australian company Transurban and Tikehau, an infrastructure investor within France’s Tikehau Capital group. DriveTN will take responsibility for financing through operation and maintenance of the project. Its value is put at $9.2bn, while the estimated concession value to Tennessee is $24.8bn. Together, the construction investment and concession value come to about $34bn.
The competing ACS, Acciona and Meridiam bid included a concession value of $7.25bn. A separate consortium led by Sacyr bid $7.4bn; Plenary and Shikun & Binui were also part of that group.
The plan covers about 42 kilometres between I-40 east of Nashville and I-840 near Murfreesboro. It calls for two dynamically priced toll lanes in each direction. The four existing general-purpose lanes will remain free and under TDOT’s responsibility. It is Tennessee’s first public-private transport partnership and the largest such project in the state.
Construction is expected to take about eight years, starting in 2029. The road is due to enter service in 2034, according to Ferrovial chief executive Ignacio Madridejos. Ferrovial expects to secure financing before the contractual deadline in July 2027. September’s commercial close set the contractual terms and opened the period leading to financial close.
Toll rates will change with demand and traffic conditions. The stated aim is to keep speeds and journey times predictable. The pricing system has a flexible threshold: rates can rise beyond it without a preset formula or maximum cap. TDOT will receive a share of revenue once specified thresholds are exceeded. The developer will retain 100% of toll revenue up to $3.2 per mile.
