Losing bidder challenges TDOT's $9.2B I-24 toll-lane deal
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Tennessee's $9.2 billion plan to add toll lanes to Interstate 24 faces a new legal challenge from a losing bidder that accuses the state of letting the winning team, DriveTN, renegotiate key financial commitments after it was selected.
Why it matters: The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday in Davidson County Chancery Court, raises questions about the fairness of the competition for Tennessee's first public-private toll-lane project.
- The losing bidder is asking a judge to block further action under the contract while the court determines whether TDOT improperly allowed DriveTN to change the financial terms of its winning bid after selection.
Reality check: The lawsuit cites financial reporting suggesting DriveTN was negotiating to delay some payments to the state, but it does not establish that TDOT ultimately agreed to change the winning bid. The signed contract's payment terms have not been made public.
- TDOT declined to comment on the active litigation Thursday.
Catch up quick: The "Choice Lanes" project would add optional toll lanes along 26 miles of I-24 between Nashville and Murfreesboro.
- Under the agreement, DriveTN would finance, build, operate and maintain the lanes.
Zoom in: The DriveTN group won the competition by offering payments to the state valued at $24.8 billion for the right to operate the toll lanes for 50 years. That was more than triple the next-highest offer of $7.4 billion.
- TDOT selected DriveTN on Aug. 19 and signed the contract Sept. 30.
State of play: The lawsuit — filed by a competing bidder, the 24 Choice Lanes Partners consortium — claims the state allowed changes to the financial terms that helped DriveTN win the deal in the first place.
- The consortium argues in the lawsuit that DriveTN gained an unfair advantage because competing bids had already been disclosed by the time the final contract was negotiated.
Between the lines: In the document, the consortium states it filed the lawsuit now to preserve its right to challenge the deal before a potential legal deadline.
Zoom out: The consortium is also suing TDOT in a separate public-records case to obtain the records related to the final contract and financial agreements.
- Those documents could help determine what, if any, changes were made after the state picked DriveTN.
What's next: TDOT has said it will provide a redacted copy of the signed agreement by Oct. 30, according to the latest filing.