Infrastructure

The government shutdown is wreaking more havoc as air traffic controllers will miss a paycheck this week and federal payments to states for housing bonds and Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle bonds may stop flowing.

The city is gearing up to sell $252 million of general obligation bonds this year and $1.5 billion of revenue bonds in 2026 for a convention center project.

"I've never seen this level of hand wringing at the issuer level," said Matt Boles, managing director at RBC Capital Markets.

"The project is not dead," said the transportation planning board chair.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also defended the administration's funding freeze on major New York transit projects.

The City Council is exploring possible bond sales to expand Metro service for the NFL stadium slated to replace RFK Stadium, which is being demolished.

The Department of Transportation pulled funds from the Gateway Project and the Second Avenue Subway extension, citing alleged "DEI" violations.

If approved, the $6 billion federal RRIF loan would be "quite positive at this juncture," an investor said.

The CTA's funds have been "put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting," Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said.

Political dysfunction is far and away the leading economic and policy concern for muni market participants, according to a new Bond Buyer infrastructure survey.

Sophisticated issuers and investors shared insights into how they navigate the complexities of the municipal bond market at The Bond Buyer Infrastructure event.

Nearly $29 billion of the $30 billion cap has been allocated, said Morteza Farajian, director of the Department of Transportation's Build America Bureau.

Pausing federal funding creates another hardship for municipalities who are also reeling from infrastructure grants being clawed back by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

At The Bond Buyer's infrastructure conference, panelists speculate about the reliability of federal funds under the current administration.

The ever-rising cost of projects is the number one financial challenge for municipalities, according to the latest survey from the National League of Cities.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced it has achieved a hiring goal for new air traffic controllers as the threat of a government shutdown looms in the background.

The nearly-complete offshore wind power generation project can resume construction while it fights a stop-work order from the Trump administration.

Advocates have floated similar measures repeatedly over the course of several administrations with no luck.

The administration wants the project "to be a model of how to build quickly and cost effectively," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.

For the 24th year, The Bond Buyer editorial board will identify and recognize the year's most outstanding municipal finance transactions. The final deadline for nominations is Friday, October 17.