Infrastructure

WASHINGTON - A key Republican senator is opposing an 18-month extension of the current surface transportation law and urging Obama administration officials to use unspent federal stimulus funds to replenish the Highway Trust Fund, which is expected to run out of money this summer.

The Regional Transportation Authority will cut internal spending in its $36.7 million budget by 12% and work with its transit service boards — the Chicago Transit Authority, Pace suburban bus service and Metra commuter rail — to reduce costs due to revised revenue estimates that were lowered by $61 million.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The Atlanta City Council on Monday approved the sale of $1.4 billion of new-money and refunding bonds, with most of the proceeds going toward completion of the new international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

General Motors Corp. late last month announced its selection of Orion Township for an assembly plant to build its future small-car model — one bit of good news for local and Michigan state officials grappling with dwindling revenues and high unemployment made worse by the struggling auto industry.

DALLAS - The Texas Transportation Commission has a new lease on life and $2 billion more in bonding capacity available after a two-day special legislative session that ended Thursday, but some funding methods remain in limbo.

A Florida Department of Transportation project engineer said Monday that the agency is evaluating whether to restart the nearly $2 billion concession project near Jacksonville known as the First Coast Outer Beltway.

Florida officials yesterday said the state’s first Build America Bond sale — a $255 million taxable deal — would save $56.1 million for the state’s turnpike enterprise system.

DALLAS - A bill to authorize a $2 billion bond issue for the Texas Department of Transportation is already in the hopper, awaiting debate at today's special session of the Legislature. But the contentious issue of toll roads could extend the session beyond Gov. Rick Perry's goal of three days, lawmakers say.

WASHINGTON - A legislative proposal to establish a system of metropolitan infrastructure banks included in the $450 billion multi-year transportation bill making its way through the House is drawing questions about the banks' utility, whether they would be redundant, and if there would be a market for bonds issued to capitalize them.

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority yesterday entered into an agreement with the commonwealth in which the agency will receive $100 million from Massachusetts' coffers to help cover debt service costs during the next 30 years in return for the agency not implementing a toll hike on the Metropolitan Highway System in fiscal 2010.