Economy

With the economy riding high, issuers in Texas are hoping voters keep their pocketbooks open long enough to approve more than $6.5 billion of bond issues on the ballot Nov. 4.

Puerto Rico officials said Thursday that the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority would default on its bonds but that the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority would not.

North Texas Tollway Authority returns to the market with $499.5 million of revenue refunding bonds that are expected to provide significant savings.

A new guide from AASHTO examines current revenue sources and potential options for bolstering the Highway Trust Fund, including fees based on vehicle miles traveled.

Puerto Rico plans to help its Highways and Transportation Authority through an oil tax increase and the sale of bonds from a new authority.

Federal TIFIA loans and similar programs will become more prevalent as conventional highway grants shrink, according to Fitch Ratings, which says TIFIA loans have pluses and minuses for borrowers and other investors.

Wisconsin will refund $132 million of transportation revenue bonds on Thursday, two days after state voters cast a decision on a proposed constitutional amendment that would bar future raids on the state's transportation fund for other expenses.

Toll roads across the nation can expect to see higher volumes of traffic as lower fuel prices encourages more driving, according to Moody's Investors Service.

The Orange County Transportation Authority, Calif. issued a request for qualifications Oct. 27 seeking firms interested in working on the $900 million expansion of a stretch of Interstate 405.

Jay Walder, a former chairman and chief executive of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, was named chief executive of Alta Bicycle Share, which operates New York City's Citi Bike bicycle sharing program.

An ruling from a Superior Court judge during a hearing scheduled for Oct. 31 could bring the end to a lawsuit brought by Ontario, California seeking the return of its local airport from the control of Los Angeles.

A proposed $3 billion rapid passenger rail system in the Midwest would cut the five-hour train trip between Chicago to Detroit by almost two hours.

The operator of the Indiana Toll Road won federal court approval for a bankruptcy plan that will either sell its 75-year lease of the highway or restructure the company with $2.75 billion of new debt.

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority will look to keep biennial fare increases to the 4% inflation rate, said chairman Thomas Prendergast.

Key players will discuss the design and construction of the $1.4 billion Fulton Center megaproject in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Oct. 29.

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority will returns to the market Thursday to borrow $400 million of new-money, toll-backed debt to kick off record infrastructure spending planned in the coming year.

Ineffective safety management was common to five Metro-North Railroad accidents over 11 months, including a train collision last December that killed four persons.

Wisconsin's Mercy Health System and Illinois' Rockford Health System plan to join forces as soon as December pending regulatory approval.

Infrastructure upgrades would expand the economy and make the U.S. more resistant to climate change, a labor-environmental group says.

Floating-rate notes enable New York's MTA to take advantage of the short part of the yield curve, finance director Patrick McCoy said.