Southwest

The Arkansas Department of Highways and Transportation will focus initially on improving traffic flow along Interstate 30 if voters approve $1.3 billion of general obligation bonds for roadwork next year.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit has awarded a design-build contract for the final segment in its $1.5 billion Orange Line project that will connect Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to the DART light-rail network, officials said.

A third lawsuit seeking to overturn Texas' system for financing public education was filed Tuesday in a Travis County state district court in Austin.

Designing a solar rooftop for Salt Lake City's convention center has proven much less challenging than arranging the financing, planners for the $7 million project say.

Texas state sales tax collections in November totaled $2.07 billion, up 12.2% from November 2010, and the 20th consecutive month of increased revenues.

Irving will make an unofficial commitment this week of $170 million of revenue bonds to help pay for a proposed entertainment complex despite warnings that the new debt could affect the Dallas suburb’s bond rating.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation got the go-ahead last week from the Council of Bond Oversight for a $71 million debt issue to finance four highway projects.

Kansas state Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick, said she will recommend an early end to most of a 1% hike in the sales tax approved in 2010.

The Arkansas Teacher Retirement System is unlikely to eliminate its $4.4 billion of unfunded liabilities over the next 30 years at the current return from the system’s investments, according to actuaries

Trustees of Central Arkansas Water last week approved an $18.2 million revenue bond issue that is expected to go to market in early January.