Infrastructure

Former Rep. Ray LaHood, a Republican from Illinois, yesterday was poised to become secretary of the Department of Transportation after he sailed through a Senate confirmation hearing on his nomination.

CHICAGO - Under pressure to act soon, the financially strapped St. Louis Metro transit agency is weighing how best to restructure $100 million of insured floating-rate bonds from a 2002 issue, a task complicated by increased liquidity costs and possible swap termination payments.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority is gearing up to address its problematic auction-rate securities with a $225 million bond sale set to price this month that will refinance some of the debt into variable-rate mode. It also hopes to sell $275 million of notes to buy back more of its $800 million of outstanding ARS.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit has named former Irving municipal finance manager David Leininger as its new chief financial officer. Leininger will supervise all financial activities, including budgeting, financial planning, federal funding, accounts payable, and general accounting.

Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. and legislative leaders hope to ease Colorado’s transportation funding crisis with a program dubbed FASTER, for Funding Advancement for Surface Transportation Economic Recovery.

DALLAS - New Orleans' recovery director said yesterday that bond-financed projects in the city are viable despite sluggish sales of Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds dedicated to economic restoration efforts.

WASHINGTON - House appropriations and tax committees yesterday described several municipal bond initiatives among the $550 billion of spending provisions and $275 billion of targeted tax cuts to be included in economic stimulus legislation, which lawmakers hope to take up beginning next week.

The Florida Department of Transportation has postponed the date that bids are due for the potential leasing of Alligator Alley, an existing toll road in South Florida.

Massachusetts Senate leaders yesterday released their proposal to reform the state's transportation system with the goal of bringing efficiency and cost-savings to roadways, bridges, and mass transit operations.

Chicago’s $2.5 billion lease of Midway Airport is no longer on track to win federal approval before the change in presidential administrations, as Federal Aviation Administration officials await additional financial information from the private operators that won the lease.