Transportation industry

Public finance officials and infrastructure investors need to stop talking about "the deal" and start managing political risks with clear, easily understood language, participants at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce panel said Wednesday.

Chicago's plans to enter the market later this year with up to $900 million of O'Hare International Airport revenue debt to raise about $300 million for the airport's capital improvement program and ongoing $8 billion runway expansion program.

Market participants say munis are key to reaching the infrastructure goals laid out in President Obama's State of the Union Address, but caution that cuts to munis' tax benefits could make it difficult to fund the large-scale projects Obama described.

Transportation and business leaders on Wednesday discussed controversial solutions for funding American infrastructure, including Build America Bonds, gasoline tax increases, and wider use of tolling.

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority held more than $90 million in funds and bank accounts that it could have used to meet budgeted costs, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said.

The Indiana Motor Speedway would be able to issue up to $100 million of bonds backed by a new pledge of state taxes under a bill set to be debated Thursday.

President Obama is expected to focus on the need for infrastructure investments in his fifth State of the Union address Tuesday night amid a sluggish economic backdrop.

Infrastructure finance experts and high-speed rail advocates are largely united in the belief that public-private partnerships are the way to finance ambitious bullet train plans, but the exact details continue to be elusive.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's burdensome requirement to pay the state DOT $450 million annually would expire in 10 years under Gov. Tom Corbett's proposal.

A refunding surge triggered by low interest rates and soaring airport issuance contributed to the surge in transportation bond volume in 2012, experts said.

The City Council in distressed Scranton, Pa., tabled a contract with Standard Parking to manage city meters, citing concerns over fees and revenue projections.

Seattle may sell a bond-financed downtown mall parking garage that has been losing money.

The outlook for U.S. toll roads is negative for the fifth consecutive year, according to a Moody's Investors Service analysis of expectations for the sector over the next 12-18 months.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's controversial transportation plan passed the House of Delegates Tuesday, but failed to get out of the Senate despite both chambers agreeing to ban tolling on Interstate 95 in the southern part of the state.

Some South Carolina legislators are looking for new ways to raise funds for transportation, and are looking at a novel plan backed by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Florida has officially given the final approval for the $2.1 billion I-4 Ultimate Project in central Florida to move forward as the state’s largest public-private partnership.

Ohio transportation officials announced the three firms that will vie for work on a $330 million bridge project in downtown Cleveland that is the state's first public-private partnership.

The trustee for bankrupt American Airlines Inc.'s $1.4 billion of New York City airport revenue bonds hopes to submit a final settlement agreement after a majority of bondholders endorsed the terms.

Gov. John Kasich proposed $1.4 billion in tax cuts and a $3 billion infrastructure program financed in part by a new Ohio Turnpike bond credit as well as a one-time $500 million cash payment into the state's rainy day fund as part of his $130.5 billion 2014-2015 spending plan.

Several individuals have emerged as candidates to replace Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood when he steps down, but that person will need to be very proactive to affect meaningful policy, lobbyists say.