Infrastructure

The North Carolina Turnpike Authority has received a conditional letter of commitment from Assured Guaranty Corp. that could allow it to issue its first bonds in June, says executive director, David Joyner.

Miami-Dade County commissioners meeting Tuesday refused to advance a proposal that could have led to the repeal of a half-cent transit tax that has leveraged $461 million of debt. But efforts to repeal the tax may not be over yet.

Overall costs on a parking garage financed with municipal bonds in Washington, N.J., have ballooned nearly five times from original estimates to $2.7 million, according to a state-level audit of the borough.

The head of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority resigned effective May 22 to comply with a provision of the MTA bailout.

The New York Senate was expected to finish a bill last night to close a funding gap for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that would create revenue streams to support up to $6 billion of bonds for the transit system, a spokesman for the Senate majority said.

New Jersey will revamp its underwriting pool in the next few weeks, with an eye to bringing in firms that offer transportation financing strategies for the state.

DALLAS - With some trepidation, Denton County, north of Dallas and Fort Worth, will test the strength of its triple-A credit rating in a competitive sale of $104 million of general obligation bonds next week.

A long-term plan for capital financing for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority appeared to be off the table yesterday as New York lawmakers kept talking about a rescue plan for the troubled agency.

Three road projects in Oklahoma financed with federal infrastructure stimulus funds got under way last week, one month after the contracts were approved by the Oklahoma Transportation Commission.

CHICAGO - The vote late last week by the Wisconsin Legislature's Joint Finance Committee to create regional transportation authorities with taxing powers in the Milwaukee and Madison areas has generated praise and criticism - with some calling on lawmakers and Gov. Jim Doyle to reject the package.