Infrastructure

Massachusetts officials selected four investment firms to work on refinancing $800 million of fixed-rate Massachusetts Turnpike Authority debt into variable-rate mode.

WASHINGTON — Senate transportation leaders are in a standoff with their House counterparts over a six-month extension of the current transportation law, as states are experiencing a 30% reduction in their federal highway and bridge funding.

CHICAGO — The Chicago City Council yesterday approved up to $2.85 billion of general obligation and airport bonds slated for sale in early 2010 and signed off on a settlement with a neighboring suburb that ends its litigation against the $8 billion expansion of O’Hare International Airport.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority proposed a balanced operating budget for 2010 yesterday but set aside additional reserves in case its assumptions prove overly optimistic.

SAN FRANCISCO — Oakland, California’s eighth-most populous city, may have to sell its convention center or securitize its parking revenues to close a projected $44.3 million general fund deficit over the next two years.

WASHINGTON — The Montgomery County Council in Maryland Tuesday unanimously voted against proposed toll rate hikes for the InterCounty Connector, the $2.4 billion toll road currently under construction, and also cut $30 million from the county’s fiscal 2010 budget.

The Atlanta City Council on Monday unanimously approved a new lease with Delta Air Lines at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are pushing for a second economic stimulus bill, and transportation advocates hope it will contain funding for infrastructure without further delaying a multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill.

Chicago and Bensenville on Monday announced a $16 million settlement that ends opposition to the city’s $8 billion expansion of O’Hare International Airport.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is looking to boost its bond issuance for fiscal 2009 by $200 million, with its next sale set for early to mid-December.