Infrastructure

Portland could be heading to the market next year with a new-money transaction to help finance a $60 million expansion project at the Portland International Jetport.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will be challenged to close multimillion dollar deficits over the next four years but the New York agency is expected to balance its budget through state and local government assistance, fare increases, or operating cost reductions, Standard & Poor’s said in a report last week.

BRADENTON, Fla. -The Florida Department of Transportation on Wednesday received six responses from firms interested in the state's first-ever lease of an existing toll road, which is known as Alligator Alley.

CHICAGO - Even as rising gas costs threaten Michigan's transportation revenues, the state needs to double spending on its roads and bridges or up to 30% of roads will become unsafe within the next decade, according to a report on the state's transportation system released this week.

DALLAS - With growth coming from the world's largest Army post, El Paso, Tex., is moving toward a $1 billion comprehensive mobility plan that would complete a freeway loop around the city, add a rapid transit system, and build the first two toll roads in the area.

The House yesterday approved an $8 billion patch for the anemic Highway Trust Fund, while a Senate committee postponed this week's vote on a stimulus package that would inject billions more into transportation infrastructure.

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority yesterday asked the state, city, and subway and commuter train riders to pony up more money to help the agencyy close a budget gap that would rise to $903 million in 2009.

CHICAGO - With ratings in the double-A category and clearance from the Illinois auditor general, the Chicago Transit Authority is readying its long-planned issue of nearly $2 billion of taxable pension-related bonds for sale as soon as next week.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission yesterday announced that it submitted a revamped application to the Federal Highway Administration, seeking approval to implement tolls on Interstate 80.

Facing a $20 million 2009 budget deficit stemming largely from rising fuel costs, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority last week issued a proposal to raise fares and cut service in Cuyahoga County.