Transportation industry

A 2011 bill transferring $101.7 million from a highway transportation revolving fund into the general fund was constitutional, Oklahoma solicitor general Patrick Wyrick contended last week in a hearing before a state Supreme Court referee.

A week of noise involving unions and commuters ended quietly in a Manhattan conference room on Friday, when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey board of commissioners approved a set of toll and fare increases that the states' governors modified.

WASHINGTON - Garvee bond ratings are at risk from the increasingly unpredictable budget and policy process in Washington, Standard & Poor's warned in a report released Friday.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s board of commissioners cited the need to maintain a high bond rating Friday morning in approving a set of toll and fare hikes for the region after the states’ governors softened the blow.

CHICAGO - Public hearings began Thursday on the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority's proposed 15-year, $12 billion, partially bond-financed capital program ahead of a possible board vote next week at which one board member will push an alternative.

BRADENTON, Fla. - A stalled beltway project near Jacksonville in northeast Florida will get a partial kick-start with the construction of a bond-financed segment, state officials announced Wednesday.

DALLAS - Amid rising sales tax revenue and an improving economy, Phoenix is considering a bond issue to revive plans for a $288 million extension of the metro area's new light-rail system.

WASHINGTON - Lurking in the legislative weeds on Capitol Hill is another threat to states' and localities' ability to fund bond-financed and other transportation projects.

More than 80 people, including members of Michigan's Senate Economic Development Committee, embarked Monday on a fact-finding tour of proposed sites for a controversial plan to build a publicly funded bridge over the Detroit River.

Puerto Rico received 12 responses from infrastructure funds, U.S. private-equity firms, Canadian pensions, and developers based in Spain and India to a request for qualifications for a privatization of up to 50 years of its principal airport, near the capital, San Juan.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority sold $201.6 million of tax-exempt capital grant receipts bonds, Series 2011.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo named a search committee to recommend candidates for the next chairman and chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Fitch Ratings upgraded Massachusetts’ special obligation highway revenue bonds to AA-plus from AA with a stable outlook. The agency said the move was part of its continuous surveillance effort.

CHICAGO - Detroit hopes to come to market in early September with up to $100 million of federal capital grant-backed bonds to finance part of a light-rail system along the city's main thoroughfare.

Cost estimates for California’s proposed high-speed rail project are starting to come in higher than expected, according to local press reports.

Los Angeles International Airport reported a 5.4% increase in passenger levels during the first half of 2011, nearly double what officials had been projecting.

DALLAS - Colorado's Regional Transportation District has received confirmation of a $1.03 billion federal grant that is a key element in financing its $6.7 billion FasTracks program.

Florida plans to advance $3 billion of transportation projects, according to Transportation Secretary Ananth Prasad.

CHICAGO - Ohio is looking for advisors to help it explore privatization options for the Ohio Turnpike.

Though the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey didn't say so directly in its statement announcing stunningly high fare-hike proposals, the message was clear: the authority is worried about its bond rating.