Infrastructure

Two Virginia groups representing local governments have joined the opposition to Gov. Bob McDonnell's and the state Department of Transportation's plan to toll Interstate 95.

A congressional panel grilled members of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board Friday morning in a hearing called to examine a scathing report on the bond-issuing agency's ethical practices and policies.

A federal loan program for water infrastructure projects is close to reality after getting a push from Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., at a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing Thursday.

The board of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority voted Wednesday to increase rates on the Dulles Toll Road, calling it necessary to finance part of the mostly bond-funded and highly controversial Silver Line rail extension to Dulles International Airport.

Frederick "Bud" Wright is expected to become the new executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officers early next year, sources said Tuesday.

The federal government should both exempt private activity bonds from the alternative minimum tax and create a national public-private partnership office to help state and local governments put deals together according to Brookings Institution reports issued Tuesday.

California's non-partisan Legislative Analyst said the state's use of public-private partnerships has fallen short by using unclear processes and picking unsuitable projects.

Rep. Bill Shuster, R- Pa., announced on Thursday his candidacy to serve as chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

John Horsley and Jack Basso will take about 90 years of experience with them when they retire from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in February, and the two are disappointed to be stepping away from a very uncertain future.

New York City Housing Development Corp. president Marc Jahr has been tapped as the chairman of the interim executive committee of Municipal Bonds for America, a coalition formed to stave off threats to tax exemption.

State transportation agencies are working together to develop strategies aimed at making investment in infrastructure more palatable to the public, as official fears of a rising investment gap meet public concerns about long-term debt.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell blasted the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority after a new U.S. Department of Transportation report found numerous flaws in its policies and procedures.

Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings directors say Hurricane Sandy could create a downward impact on a few of the most severely impacted credits.

Though they can often deliver infrastructure projects faster and at lower cost than traditional procurement, P3s are not a silver bullet and not always the right way to go, according to a new white paper released by the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships.

Several Virginia municipalities have retained legal counsel to fight Gov. Bob McDonnell's plan to toll Interstate 95, which commonwealth officials have said could help close a $10 billion funding gap over the next 25 years.

House Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers asked Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to help eliminate rules requiring municipalities to defease outstanding bonds when selling or leasing their water systems to a private company.

Bonds have played a role in financing spaceports.

Spaceports are popping up all over the U.S., as both existing airports and brand new facilities position themselves to profit from a new age of commercial space travel and transport, but the industry is still in its infancy.

Airports will continue to remain at risk for credit downgrades until passenger enplanements reach consistent growth of 3%, far above the flat-to-negative trajectory Moody's Investors Service expects.

WASHINGTON — Mileage-based systems could yield revenues between three and eight times higher than the gas taxes currently used to maintain the public road system and back bonds, the Congressional Budget Office found.