Transportation industry

The board of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday authorized, without debate, the negotiated sale of up to $500 million of tax-exempt Series 2011A transportation revenue bonds.

BRADENTON, Fla. - A last-ditch effort to prevent the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority in northwest Florida from a bond payment default has failed and the remaining member of the board plans to resign next week.

Louisiana will set up a 10-member task force and a five-member advisory council to study a proposal to remove the tolls from two bridges over the Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans.

DALLAS — The Oklahoma Supreme Court declined Monday to hear arguments in a lawsuit contending that the use of $101.7 million of highway tax revenues to balance the state’s fiscal 2012 budget was unconstitutional.

St. Louis saw strong demand among institutional buyers for its $30 million refunding last week of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport revenue bonds and achieved 4.6% in net present-value savings, city Comptroller Darlene Green said.

Gov. Mitch Daniels Wednesday will tour three Indiana cities to mark the five-year anniversary of Major Moves, the largest infrastructure program in the state's history, which was financed in part with the $3.8 billion Indiana Toll Road lease.

DALLAS — With a $1 billion renovation of George Bush Intercontinental Airport in the works, the Houston Airport System will seek interest-rate savings in a $424 million refunding deal expected to price in mid-July.

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco International Airport will sell $323 million of debt this week to refund outstanding revenue bonds in a revival of a deal it had shelved last year.

Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport will see $200 million of new facilities under a facilities proposal approved last week after a nine-month hiatus.

An end to truckers' support for an ­increase in Arkansas' diesel tax to support $1.1 billion of road bonds could mean a tax increase for trucking companies.

Puerto Rico will issue its first new-money general obligation bond sale in nearly three years, a $304 million offering that will help finance transportation infrastructure upgrades.

The Regional Transportation Authority of Illinois will take competitive bids Tuesday on $100 million of general obligation refunding bonds and in a separate transaction will further tap its commercial paper program as it awaits nearly $400 million in overdue state aid payments.

The Las Vegas Monorail has been given court permission to send its bankruptcy-exit plan to creditors for a vote.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority announced Wednesday that it has tapped a new leader after a difficult selection process and during a time of controversy about the second phase of its Metrorail extension project.

DALLAS - Texas Gov. Rick Perry has signed legislation designed to help commuter rail districts raise money across jurisdictional lines for bond-funded projects.

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday will remarket $347.7 million of dedicated tax fund variable-rate refunding bonds originally sold in 2008.

DALLAS — The Arkansas Trucking Association has withdrawn its support for a proposed increase of the state diesel tax to support $1.1 billion of bonds for interstate highway projects.

The Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority, a quasi-governmental organization that promotes public transit, said last week that it has launched a petition drive to support local funding options for public transportation.

A consortium led by Goldman, Sachs & Co. will pay a total $1.43 billion to maintain and operate Puerto Rico's busiest toll road for 40 years.

CHICAGO — U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois unveiled legislation Monday that would promote public-private partnerships for transportation projects by lifting federal restrictions on tapping private financing for airports, highways, and railroads.