Austin American-Statesman reports, “The company hired by the Texas Department of Transportation to study the viability of toll lanes on Interstate 35 is battling allegations that it used inflated traffic projections for toll road assets in other states, court documents show.” The newspaper adds that TxDOT awarded its $6.8 million contract to a Macquarie subsidiary “two years after a lawsuit alleged the firm paid kickbacks — in the form of undisclosed ‘success fees’ to a consultant — in exchange for inflated traffic projections. . . .” In response to the newspaper’s inquiries “about the firm’s track record,” a Macquarie spokesperson said only, “Macquarie Capital is pleased to be working with the Texas DOT on this project, and we look forward to its successful completion.”
