Infrastructure

SAN FRANCISCO — After appearing to close a long debate in December with the decision to award construction contracts for a rail link to the Oakland International Airport, the Bay Area Rapid Transit District now faces the threat of losing $70 million in federal stimulus funding on civil rights grounds.

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco International Airport plans to refund $215.9 million of fixed-rate debt with variable-rate demand obligations next week, as it seeks to pair debt with forward swaps it agreed to enter before the financial crisis.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue Thursday said the state could not refinance $424.4 million of transportation debt because the board that oversees road projects has voted to ­maintain accounting practices that violate state law.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie last week updated financial information presented in bond documents, including an estimated $1.52 billion current-year state budget deficit and the limited status of New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority funds.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority voted on Thursday to increase all fares by 10 cents and to tap its reserve fund to close a $40.1 million revenue shortfall for fiscal 2010.

WASHINGTON — High-speed rail proponents rejoiced yesterday after President Obama announced the Federal Railroad Administration has awarded 31 states with a total of $8 billion of high-speed rail grants, the largest of which will go to California, Florida, and the Midwest region.

DALLAS — The Texas Department of Transportation expects to go to market this spring after gaining approval to issue up to $3 billion of general obligation bonds.

The agency building the new Transbay Transit Center project in San Francisco announced Tuesday that it has closed on a $171 million federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan for the project.

The easier it is to get around an area without a car, the less likely a homeowner there will default, all other things being equal, an environmentalist group says.

WASHINGTON — President Obama wants to freeze non-military discretionary spending for three years to save $250 billion over the next decade, but market participants in states, transportation, and other infrastructure sectors are not panicking yet.