Transportation industry

WASHINGTON - House Republicans plan to soon introduce a five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that would be partly paid for by revenues from expanded domestic energy production, Speaker John Boehner announced Thursday.

DALLAS - The North Texas Tollway Authority achieved total savings of $10.1 million in a $268.6 million refunding deal that sold out in less than three hours, officials said.

The board overseeing the embattled Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority on Monday accepted its executive director's resignation and reached an agreement with the Florida state government to build a long-planned beltway.

CHICAGO - The U.S. market for public-private partnerships remains small and fragmented, marred by hurdles like clashing legislation and political controversy, in contrast to Canada and Europe, panelists said at The Bond Buyer's Transportation/P3 Conference here.

DALLAS - The South Louisiana Port Commission will expand cargo-handling capabilities at the Port of South Louisiana with a new pier financed by $8 million of port revenue bonds.

The board of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority discussed the proposed four-year budget and capital plan for 2012 to 2014 on Wednesday amid the hovering shadow of labor negotiations.

CHICAGO - Ohio hopes to issue a request for proposals by the end of the year to privatize its highway rest areas, one of several public-private partnerships being eyed by Gov. John Kasich's administration.

CHICAGO - With federal funding and gasoline tax revenue falling far short of meeting demand for transportation infrastructure, sector participants need to do a better job selling the public and political leaders on the perks of investment and the pitfalls of inaction.

CHICAGO - As the market continues to cope with the near-disappearance of bond insurance, one effect is clear: the growing need for issuers to tout their stories to entice investors, panelists at the Bond Buyer's Transportation/P3 conference here said Tuesday.

Ohio State University announced last week that it has selected seven possible partners for the school's plan to become the first public university to privatize its parking system.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Transit Authority president Forrest Claypool last week unveiled the first of hundreds of new rail cars.

CHICAGO - The Wayne County, Mich., Airport Authority, which runs Detroit Metropolitan Airport, will come to market Thursday with $127 million of refunding bonds.

A constitutional amendment to extend a $575 million Garvee road bond program won by a sizeable majority in all 75 Arkansas counties in last week’s special election.

The North Carolina Turnpike Authority expects to sell $220 million of state appropriation revenue bonds in a two-day sale this week.

The on-again, off-again plans for an extension to a toll road that serves as an alternative to congested Interstate 5, the only freeway linking Orange County to San Diego County, looks to be back on again.

A Senate committee Wednesday voted unanimously to approve a bipartisan, $109 billion, two-year surface transportation bill that maintains current funding levels for highways and provides another $2 billion for a program that provides federal credit assistance for projects.

Supervisors and workers in a signal construction unit at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Metro-North Hudson and Harlem commuter train lines have manipulated the payroll system by abusing overtime rules that inflate their salaries and pensions, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a forensic audit of overtime practices released Wednesday.

DALLAS - After issuing $1.3 billion of revenue bonds under its new special projects lien, the North Texas Tollway Authority has maintained its critical A-level ratings on its first-tier main system revenue bonds.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced last week the $1 billion reconstruction of the Chicago Transit Authority’s busy Red Line.

SAN FRANCISCO - California's plan for a bond-funded high-speed train system just got more expensive. Fifty billion dollars more expensive.