The US Department of Transportation has announced a $430 million loan to Spanish toll road operator Cintra to enable it to build a toll bypass of Interstate 35 through central Texas, from Austin to San Antonio. The remainder of the financing for the $1.36 billion project will come from private loans and investors.

“We’re helping give this project the push it needs so commuters can experience less congestion, shippers less delays and the region less headaches,” Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said.

A consortium of Cintra and Texas-based Zachry American Infrastructure is designing and building Texas toll Highway 130, which runs parallel to I-35. The northern portion of the road is already operational, with the final southern 40 miles projected to be complete by 2012.

Cintra-Zachry is also designing the first portion of the I-69 Trans-Texas Corridor (a Corridor of the Future), and played a similar role for I-69 in Indiana.