The state is expected to sign a contract within a week to hire ACS Group of Spain to completely re-do Interstate 595. What this means is that state officials are putting the future of a major Broward County artery in the hands of a nation not known for construction prowess as much as for tapas and sangria.
State officials will give the tapas-eating ACS Group folks $1.79 billion to add reversible express lanes that, I'm guessing here, will be as efficient as the express checkout lanes at Winn-Dixie. If you're wondering who ACS Group is, well, you just have to look to the company's "Corporate strategy" page, which begins:
The ACS Group is a worldwide reference in the construction and services activities.
Worried that we're putting a billion dollars in the hands of people who don't have a command of the English language or are perhaps drunk on fruit-laced wine? Well, flip to ACS Group's "Values" page, which explains that the company aims to:
Experience developing quality service which incorporates new technological breakthroughs for clients.
If I can apply what I've learned from ACS's website, the company plans to take I-595 and turn it into a "services activities" that will "experience developing quality service." I just hope that the express lanes offer sangria.