Infrastructure demand is growing faster than public agencies can fund it, said Pepe Baraja, CEO for the U.S. and Canada at Ferrovial Construction.
In Texas, Ferrovial recently secured a $1.47 billion design-build contract to extend a key infrastructure segment southeast of Houston. The Texas DOT tapped the Amsterdam-headquartered infrastructure firm to design, build and maintain the state Highway 99 Grand Parkway segment B-1 project. Scope also includes direct connectors and operational upgrades to state Highway 35.
The award reflects a new reality in infrastructure construction, said Baraja. As population growth drives demand for transportation capacity and public agencies face budget constraints, project stakeholders are increasingly evaluating delivery methods that can accelerate schedules.
That’s where firms like Ferrovial step in, he said.
Here, Baraja talks with Construction Dive about construction challenges, lessons learned from previous infrastructure work and other alternative delivery methods.
Editor’s note: The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.
CONSTRUCTION DIVE: What construction challenges do you expect to be most difficult on the Grand Parkway loop, and how are you planning for them now?
PEPE BARAJA: Southeast Texas presents a specific set of ground conditions that require careful planning from the outset.
The nearly 15-mile corridor runs through Brazoria and Galveston Counties and requires major earthwork to raise the corridor above the area's water elevations. That’s alongside more than 2 million square feet of bridge structures, 10 million square feet of pavement and over 1 million square feet of retaining walls.
We’re navigating a combination of high-plasticity soils, floodplain constraints, major utility impacts and a rail relocation. Those conditions also inform how we think about the project's larger purpose of reducing commute times, improving hurricane evacuation routes and supporting economic growth across southeast Texas.
Coordinating the state Highway 35 operational upgrades alongside active traffic is another challenge that demands disciplined sequencing from day one. This is a live corridor, and maintaining safe, reliable travel through construction is non-negotiable.
What lessons from those segments are you bringing into this project to improve?
Having delivered 52.8 miles of Grand Parkway northeast of Houston, we know how this region builds.
The drainage work, drilled shaft experience and traffic management discipline we developed on previous segments are directly informing how we're approaching B-1 from the outset.
Many of the same challenges exist here. That experience helps us sequence work more effectively, coordinate closely with local partners and respond quickly in the field when conditions don't go as planned.
When it comes to cost control, knowing where risk concentrates on a corridor like this allows us to build more accurate estimates, make smarter procurement decisions and avoid the kind of surprises that drive schedule and budget overruns. That institutional knowledge is one of the strongest risk-management assets we bring to this project.
Where do you see design-build and other alternative delivery methods creating the most value over the next few years?
Infrastructure demand is outpacing what public budgets alone can deliver, and Ferrovial has spent two decades building the expertise to meet that moment. The private sector has a critical role to play in closing that gap, and the structure of how projects get delivered matters as much as the construction itself.
Owners are increasingly recognizing that the structure of a contract shapes long-term outcomes, and Segment B-1’s design-build contract is paired with a capital maintenance term of up to 15 years.
This means we have a long-term stake in the asset's performance, and that alignment between builder and owner is where alternative delivery creates lasting value.
Federal priorities are also shifting toward faster, more efficient infrastructure delivery, which is creating real momentum for public-private partnerships. Agencies are streamlining permitting, modernizing the funding process and structuring projects. For owners navigating tight budgets, that environment makes the case for alternative delivery methods like P3s much stronger.
Any other infrastructure construction trends you are keeping an eye on?
Population growth in high-growth Sun Belt cities is creating a strong demand for complex transportation work. By 2030, 5 billion people will live in cities globally, and fast-growing regions like southeast Texas are creating infrastructure needs that will define the region for decades.
We are already seeing the largest managed lane pipeline to date, with opportunities in markets where Ferrovial has an established presence, including Atlanta, Nashville and Charlotte.
This pipeline reflects a broader shift toward public-private partnerships as the primary vehicle for delivering critical infrastructure efficiently and at scale. Especially as owners are increasingly thinking about that infrastructure in terms of more than just daily mobility, corridors like Segment B-1 are being designed to serve emergency evacuation needs. That dual purpose is becoming a more consistent part of how major projects get scoped and funded across the Gulf Coast and beyond.
