TORONTO, ON – Three Canadian groups will be taking over a U.S. tollway for nearly the next century under terms of a new deal that’s been signed.

A consortium made up of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), have signed a US$ 2.8 billion agreement to acquire Skyway Concession Company LLC, which manages, operates and maintains the Chicago Skyway.

The group is purchasing the Skyway from partners Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte S.A. and Macquarie Atlas Roads and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, which was awarded the concession for the route in 2005 for US$1.83 billion, marking the first privatization of a highway in the U.S.

The consortium will run the Skyway for the next 89 years, the time remaining when the original lease was sold 10 years ago.

The route is a 12.5 kilometer (7.8 mile) highway that forms a critical link between downtown Chicago and its south-eastern suburbs.

As an essential part of the Chicago road network, it delivers reliability and time savings for its users in one of the busiest corridors in the U.S. according to the three groups.

“Skyway represents a rare opportunity for us to invest in a mature and significant ‎toll road of this size in the U.S.,” said Cressida Hogg, managing director and head of infrastructure, CPPIB. “This investment fits well with CPPIB’s strategy to invest in core infrastructure assets with long-term, stable cash flows in key global markets.”