Infrastructure

The New York Senate on Monday confirmed Gov. Andrew Cuomo's nomination of Joseph Lhota as chairman and chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs New York City's transit system.

WASHINGTON — Public-private partnerships do not necessarily supply more funds for highway construction than traditional government financing, and spending by the private party must be restricted by budget caps or legal limits for states and localities to see benefits from P3s, a Congressional Budget Office study concluded Monday.

The Indiana Finance Authority has issued a request for qualifications from legal firms interested in serving as transaction counsel on the state's portion of the $2.6 billion bi-state Ohio River Bridges project.

Standard & Poor's has placed the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority's grant anticipation revenue bonds on credit watch with negative implications.

Colorado Republican lawmakers plan to introduce a bill to restore a funding formula benefitting transportation construction that was repealed under 2009 legislation.

Standard & Poor’s last Thursday lowered its long-term and underlying rating on two series of Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority bonds just two weeks after Fitch Ratings affirmed the agency’s ratings.

A peer review panel has recommended California hold off on borrowing billions of dollars for its estimated $98 billion high-speed passenger rail project.

A bipartisan House duo has introduced legislation that would authorize up to $50 billion of tax-credit bonds to be used over six years to finance transportation infrastructure projects, mirroring a bill pending in the Senate and garnering support from lobbyists even as some question whether such bonds could overcome expected hesitancy from investors.

The Illinois Department of Transportation will receive $186 million to continue construction on a high-speed rail line linking Chicago with St. Louis, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Wednesday.

Indiana lawmakers returned to work Wednesday for a short session that begins with controversial labor legislation but will also likely include bills advancing a $1.3 billion bond-funded mass transit plan and raising more revenue for cash-strapped local governments.