Australian toll road operator Transurban has sold 50% of its stake in its network of American roads, all of which are in Northern Virginia.

Under the terms of the $2.1 billion deal, announced on Wednesday, Transurban will sell half its stake in Transurban Chesapeake assets to three pension funds: AustralianSuper, UniSuper and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The three partners also gain the exclusive right to invest with Transurban in new projects in D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

The company is one of the largest toll road operators in the world and the largest in the Washington region. Its presence in the area has grown dramatically since it opened the I-495 Express Lanes in 2012 — the first 14 miles of a network that now includes Express Lanes on I-95 and I-395. The express lane network now stretches more than 50 miles and is actively expanding to Fredericksburg on I-95 and to the Capital Beltway’s border with Maryland.

The decision to sell was not a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company’s CEO Scott Charlton said in a statement. Though a decrease in traffic has led to a concordant decrease in toll lane revenue, Charlton said the deal has been in the works for a year and a half.

Express Lanes traffic dropped 80% in April compared to last year, according to the statement. Traffic has gradually returned throughout the year: In November, traffic on the express lanes was down 39% compared to last year.

The influx of capital from the sale will allow Transurban to invest in new projects in both Australia and the United States, including a massive (and controversial) highway expansion project in Maryland. Transurban is on the short list to bid for lucrative contracts from the state to build and operate Express Lanes on the Beltway and I-270.

“We now have the opportunity to accelerate growth, building on our track record of success in the region and leveraging the time-tested growth strategies being realized across our Australian market,” Charlton said.

Under the original public-private partnership with Virginia, Transurban won the right to collect toll revenue for 75 years. In exchange, it expanded and repaved the Beltway and built an electronic toll system.

The idea behind the Express Lanes system was to cut down on congestion by getting more people to participate in carpooling, slugging or mass transit. Buses and cars with three or more people inside (HOV-3) travel on the lanes for free; everyone else has to pay.

Transurban will continue to operate the express lane network and collect toll revenue after the sale.