Transportation industry

Roger Nutt, former head of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and other state transportation entities, will begin Monday as the chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

A decrease in traffic on the Atlantic City Expressway prompted Moody’s Investors Service last week to downgrade nearly $500 million of South Jersey Transportation Authority revenue bonds to Baa1 from A3. The outlook is stable.

The Georgia Department of Transportation announced Monday that it selected a development team that includes Atlanta-based Cousins Properties Inc. and Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises Inc. to negotiate a contract to become the master developer of a multi-modal passenger terminal in downtown Atlanta.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced Friday that he will not make a decision about moving forward with the $1.2 billion SunRail project until July despite the fact that the project had been approved by the Legislature.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., on Tuesday unveiled legislation for a national infrastructure bank that could finance up to $10 billion of projects in each of its first two years.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich reportedly said last week he does not support giving Cincinnati $50 million for a long-planned $150 million streetcar project.

CHICAGO — In a deal brokered by federal authorities, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and officials from American Airlines and United Airlines announced an agreement Monday that allows the city to begin work on $1.17 billion worth of a remaining $3.36 billion of expansion projects at O’Hare International Airport.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Four Florida cities that tried to take control of the planned high-speed rail project from Tampa to Orlando will be allowed to apply for the $2.4 billion of federal funds that Gov. Rick Scott has rejected for the plan, according to Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla.

DALLAS — The Arkansas House on Friday passed a bill calling for a statewide vote on a diesel-fuel tax hike to fund $1.1 billion of bonds for highway efforts.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Las Vegas Monorail Co. bondholder Eaton Vance has broken with other large holders of the bankrupt project’s debt to challenge the settlement that trustee Wells Fargo Bank NA negotiated with Wisconsin state regulators to commute the monorail’s bond insurance policy.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation announced late Friday that it is opening up the $2.4 billion of federal high-speed rail money that was rejected by Florida Gov. Rick Scott to a competitive bidding process for states willing to take on new projects.

A group of Northeastern U.S. senators last week urged Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to direct $2.4 billion of federal high-speed rail funds to the Northeast Corridor line after Florida Gov. Rick Scott rejected them.

WASHINGTON — Fitch Ratings warned on Wednesday that grant anticipation revenue vehicle bonds, known as Garvees, face heightened uncertainty as Congress struggles to reauthorize transportation spending.

DALLAS — Colorado’s Regional Transportation District is putting off a decision on whether to ask voters for a sales tax increase to complete the $6.7 billion FasTracks rail plan by 2017.

DALLAS — Texas transportation planning has shifted to the slow lane as state legislators seek record spending cuts and prepare to rewrite the law governing the Texas Transportation Commission.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida Gov. Rick Scott Friday rejected, once and for all, $2.4 billion of federal funds for a high-speed rail project as the state Supreme Court unanimously refused to overturn his decision.

CHICAGO — A hearing set for next week on Chicago’s request that a Cook County Circuit Court judge dismiss an airline lawsuit that seeks to block $3.36 billion of expansion projects at O’Hare International Airport was pushed back a week as settlement negotiations continue.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett last week appointed six new commissioners to the board of the Delaware River Port Authority.

In the 1930s, motorists paid 50 cents to drive through the Holland Tunnel, and a night at the Hotel Chesterfield in Jersey City cost $2.50.

BRADENTON, Fla. — In an effort to convince Gov. Rick Scott that Florida’s high-speed rail project is viable and as risk-free to taxpayers as possible, mayors and prominent business groups said Thursday that a proposal is on the table that answers Scott’s concerns.