Transportation industry

CHICAGO — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is reportedly close to reaching a final agreement with Canada on a long-stalled $4 billion trade bridge spanning the Detroit River at the nation’s busiest trade route.

WASHINGTON — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels made the rounds in the nation’s capitol Thursday, urging lawmakers to pass a transportation bill friendly to public-private partnerships and telling reporters that he fears there might not be a bill at all.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad this week signed an agreement with the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority to build the long-planned $1.9 billion Wekiva Parkway.

The New York State Thruway Authority, faced with refinancing $868 million of short-term debt next month and a declining debt-service coverage ratio, is taking steps toward future toll hikes.

The Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board prices the biggest deal of the week, selling $600 million of capital projects revenue bonds.

Between 3% and 8% of federal money earmarked for the highway system since 2010 has gone to waste on inactive projects, according to a new GAO Report, which cites lax federal oversight and recommends a narrower role for the FHA.

Part of a noise-mitigation plan for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport has fallen apart after the Federal Aviation Administration disapproved portions of it.

The Federal Highway Administration last week approved the location of the $1.9 billion Wekiva Parkway, a 27-mile toll road that would complete a beltway around western metropolitan Orlando.

CHICAGO — The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is bringing $41.7 million of highly rated sales-tax-backed bonds to market Thursday.

Tulsa County, Okla., officials are considering a $340 million package intended to keep American Airlines and other aviation-related businesses at Tulsa International Airport.

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority will go to market on Wednesday with a $250 million sale of Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority bonds after Moody's Investors Service downgraded the TBTA's bonds last week.

Backers of alternatives to traditional highway financing are ramping up efforts to win over policy makers and a skeptical public, as the groundswell against tolling remains strong and lawmakers labor to save the rapidly diminishing Highway Trust Fund.

Clark County, Nev.'s McCarran International Airport on Wednesday night received a downgrade from Moody’s Investors Service to A1 from Aa3 on about $3 billion of its $4.5 billion of debt just as it prepares to market $365 million in three series on May 30.

The California Assembly approved a bill on Monday aimed at expediting Los Angeles County transportation projects.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is adding parking to his efforts to create a legacy impact on transportation.

Fitch Ratings last week downgraded the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority’s rating to A from A-plus.

Ascension Parish, La., may ask voters in November to approve an increase in the parish sales tax to support $80 million of revenue bonds for road projects.

A takeover of bankrupt American Airlines by US Airways could bruise some airport credits, with the risks most acute for their hub facilities, Moody's Investors Service warned in a special commentary released Wednesday.

DALLAS — Austin taxpayers would be asked to back $275 million of general obligation bonds to get an urban rail system started under a proposal before the City Council.

As Indiana spends down $3.8 billion generated by its 2006 lease of the Indiana Toll Road, the state has a series of new public-private partnerships in the pipeline that underscore its continued reliance on the technique to provide financing for transportation infrastructure projects.