Transportation industry

The Los Angeles City Council approved plans for a downtown street car last Wednesday that include up to $352 million over 30 years for operations costs, according to news reports.

Virginia's Elizabeth River Crossings tunnel project has been named the 2012 North America Toll Road Deal of the Year by Project Finance Magazine.

While it continues to assess less visible Hurricane Sandy damage, New York's MTA must move quickly on initial repair work, according to federal guidelines.

Louisiana will issue $84 million of highway revenue bonds in the first of three planned negotiated sales, two months after canceling a single $249.2 million sale.

The Chicago City Council will take up ordinances as soon as Wednesday authorizing up to $1.65 billion of O'Hare International Airport debt that will raise new money for the airport's $8 billion expansion.

Three Standard and Poor's analysts speaking in the wake of federal sequestration cuts said that public power utilities, water and sewer entities, and the transportation sector should all remain fairly stable for the next year despite a number of pressures.

The finance committee of New York's MTA approved up to $1.7 billion of transportation revenue bonds and Triborough Bridge bonds for capital projects.

S&P and Fitch Ratings this week held conference calls to detail the criteria driving their BBB ratings on Tuesday's sale of $641M of private activity bonds that will finance what is one of the only publicly rated public-private partnerships that features an availability-payment structure.

Florida is seeking qualified firms interested in a public-private partnership to build a $2.1B managed-lanes project on Interstate 4 through Orange and Seminole counties.

The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act has been touted by many as a crucial funding source for major projects, but most states have never used the program and say it has little value for them.

A 13-city tax district in North Texas for a $2.7 billion commuter rail line remains a possibility after State Sen. John Carona filed a bill to authorize its creation.

Two northern Virginian House Democrats have introduced legislation that would authorize the study of an expansion of the Washington Metrorail deeper into the commonwealth.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's far-reaching transportation funding overhaul proposal would restructure the state tax system in an effort to add new transit service and bring older systems up to date.

Kansas City, Mo. officials hope to quickly resolve a lawsuit filed by several business owners challenging the legality of the funding mechanism for the city's proposed $102 million downtown streetcar project.

The Cincinnati City Council Wednesday narrowly approved a controversial plan to lease the city's parking system for an upfront payment to offset a budget shortfall - but a judge almost immediately issued an injunction to halt the deal.

Chances for state bill authorizing the $2.7 billion Cotton Belt commuter rail project dimmed after the Fort Worth City Council opposed the plan.

The House approved legislation on Wednesday to fund the government after current authorization expires March 27, over the objections of transportation advocates upset that it would cut millions in highway and transit spending.

Palmdale, Calif. wants to gain control of its local airport from the city of Los Angeles.

The cost of the East Side Access project to bring Long Island Rail Road service to Grand Central Terminal in New York City could cost nearly $9 billion when completed in 2019, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a report Wednesday.

A bill that would transfer control of Charlotte Douglas International Airport to an independent authority is getting swift attention from the General Assembly, and North Carolina's new governor.