Transportation industry

WASHINGTON — Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wants to write a second chapter for the popular Build America Bond program, by reviving the federally subsidized taxable bonds to specifically fund transportation projects.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Gov. Rick Scott told the Florida Supreme Court in a brief Wednesday that the decision to reject federal funds for high-speed rail rests with him and a petition to overturn his decision has come from “state senators whose policy preferences have not prevailed in the political process.”

DALLAS — Colorado’s Regional Transportation District should shelve plans to for a tax-hike referendum this year or risk rejection of additional funds to complete the FasTracks rail projects by 2017, according to an advisory group.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Wednesday that he is open to interstate tolling, which could provide funds for the Obama administration’s ambitious agenda, as an alternative to raising the federal gas tax, the current source of revenues for most transportation projects.

Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell unveiled an analysis Tuesday showing the potential employment and economic growth offered by his $4 billion transportation spending plan.

Standard & Poor’s Tuesday raised its long-term rating to AA-plus from AA on the Columbus Airport Commission’s lease revenue bonds. The outlook is stable.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Two Florida senators, a Republican and a Democrat, filed a 281-page petition Tuesday with the state Supreme Court seeking an emergency ruling to block Gov. Rick Scott from rejecting $2.4 billion of federal funds for high-speed rail.

Court hearings on a lawsuit challenging Chicago’s authority to proceed with $3.36 billion worth of expansion projects at O’Hare International Airport without airline approval have been pushed back due to ongoing settlement negotiations.

WASHINGTON — States officials are eyeing $2.4 billion of federal high-speed rail money that was allocated for Florida, but is now up for grabs after Gov. Rick Scott effectively ended the state’s project by rejecting the funding earlier this month.

Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell said last week that voters will be asked in November 2012 to decide on a bond package that would fund an urban rail system, roads, bike paths, parks, and libraries.

DALLAS — A new section of the 180-mile, $6 billion toll road that loops around the outer Houston metro area known as the Grand Parkway could break ground this fall after winning approval from the Texas Transportation Commission.

After meeting with Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Friday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood gave the state another week to decide once and for all if it wants $2.4 billion in federal funds to build a high-speed rail network.

Arkansas voters would be asked to decide on $2.8 billion of state bonds for highway projects under a proposal to be introduced next week by House Speaker Robert Moore Jr.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida Gov. Rick Scott Thursday told four local governments that he would not change his mind about accepting $2.4 billion of federal funds for a high-speed rail project.

SAN FRANCISCO — A Superior Court judge in California has denied a lawsuit brought by a public employees' union that sought to block a plan for a public-private partnership to rebuild a road linking San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.

WASHINGTON — Supporters of the Florida high-speed rail project are scrambling to come up with options to preserve it after Gov. Rick Scott rejected $2.4 billion of federal funding last week.

A hearing has been pushed back a week to March 1 on Chicago's motion asking a Cook County Circuit Court judge to dismiss a suit challenging the city's authority to proceed with $3.36 billion worth of expansion projects at O'Hare International Airport without airline approval.

DALLAS — As Texas urban transit authorities continue to expand light-rail lines to ease congestion, they are also investing heavily in their workhorse buses, combining local and federal funds to develop cleaner, more efficient systems.

Bills to appropriate $150 million from the Alaska general fund for the Knik Arm Crossing bridge project advanced from a Senate committee this week.

DALLAS — The North Texas Tollway Authority’s decision in 2007 to pay $3.2 billion for the right to build the Sam Rayburn Tollway was a mistake that has limited its ability to take on new projects, according to NTTA chairman Victor ­Vandergriff.