Transportation industry

Valley Metro will build an 11-mile extension of its light rail network from downtown Phoenix after last week's approval of the project by the Maricopa Association of Governments.

Franchise strength, offset by leverage, is the most important component of Fitch airport ratings, according to a new Fitch Ratings report. The study concludes an 8 month review of Fitch's airport portfolio.

The MTA, whose sheer enormity makes it an easy target for critics, was in feel-good mode even while acknowledging it many financial challenges.

Voters across Georgia head to the polls Tuesday to decide whether to raise the sales tax by 1% over the next decade to pay for transportation projects. The tax will raise more than $18 billion over 10 years.

The Providence, R.I., City Council on Thursday backed Mayor Angel Taveras' proposed bond referendum on $40 million worth of citywide street and sidewalk paving.

Vermont plans to sell $10 million of special obligation transportation infrastructure bonds to fund bridge reconstruction and roadway reconfiguration projects.

Jay Walder, the chief executive of Kong Kong's MTR Corp. and former chairman of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, signed a 25-year public-private partnership with Hangzhou, China, to build a subway line.

Ridership on Port Authority Trans-Hudson, or PATH trains, is on pace to set a record for the second consecutive year.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is encouraging states and cities to submit letters of interest for an available $1.7 billion under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan program, which LaHood said could ultimately help leverage $50 billion in transportation investment.

A new Government Accountability Office study examining bus rapid transit concludes that cities with limited funding sources and no major congestion issues may find high-cost features worthwhile only if economic development is a major goal of the bus line.

Amtrak's roughly $7 billion master plan for a complete overhaul of Washington D.C.'s Union Station will likely involve a large collaborative effort mixing public and private funding sources, according to a company spokesman and industry experts.

Atlanta area political and business leaders have a solution to traffic that's ranked among the worst in the U.S.: Ask voters to approve a sales tax increase to raise $8.5 billion over a decade for roads and public transportation.

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority introduced a financial plan on Wednesday that projected a $46 million cash surplus rolled into each of the next two years, but also deficits from 2014 to 2016 that range from $14 million to $231 million.

Officials involved with the new Tappan Zee Bridge project promised openness and transparency but still did not have a plan of financing for project costs.

The Corpus Christi City Council is considering a recommendation for a $55 million general obligation bond referendum in November that would focus on upgrades and maintenance of city streets.

Two ports in Florida and one each in Georgia and South Carolina will see expansion projects expedited thanks to the Obama administration's "We Can't Wait Initiative."

Struggling to repay $113 million in debt that financed its privately-owned and operated airport in Missouri's Ozark Mountains, Branson Airport LLC has won a reprieve against enforcement actions from bondholders in the form of an extended forbearance agreement.

Detroit officials this week announced the city won a $30 million federal grant to help buy and upgrade city buses among other capital upgrades.

Moody's Investors Service said this week Chrysler's improved performance and production at its Belvidere plant in the Rockford, Ill., metropolitan region is a credit positive for the area.

Sussex County board member Eric Fly voiced his concern over the process and the plan itself, "The whole process is backwards. VDOT isn't going to give the public any time to voice their opinion prior to submitting their final application to the Federal Highway Administration. They clearly know that the public is against the idea and are therefore trying to jam it through before any public comment.