Transportation industry

The Colorado Department of Transportation will set aside $21 million for mass transit under its Faster program, or Funding Advancement for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery, officials said.

The E-470 Public Highway Authority that operates a 47-mile toll road east of Denver announced a series of promotions in top management last week.

WASHINGTON — The incoming chairman of the House Transportation Committee opposes the Republican leadership's proposal for a change in House rules that could hurt the funding of transportation programs.

OAKLAND, Calif. — A Superior Court judge here promised an answer by Monday morning as to whether he will keep in place the temporary restraining order blocking execution of a public-private partnership to rebuild a key access road to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Pittsburgh's City Council late last week was expected to override a veto by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl of a bill that would raise fees on city-owned parking garages to fund pension costs.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey last week recommended raising the roadbed of the Bayonne Bridge by 64 feet to provide more clearance for ships.

A Wayne County Circuit Court judge will rule in January on the latest legal wrangle that is part of a larger, years-long dispute over dueling plans for a new bridge serving the busy trade route between Detroit and Canada.

The Harris County Metropolitan Transit Authority last week reached a settlement with CAF USA Inc., over two disputed contracts for the construction of light-rail cars for its North and Southeast Corridor lines.

Two churches in Mission have filed suit in Johnson County District Court in Olathe seeking to overturn Mission's new transportation utility fee.

WASHINGTON — Improving economic conditions are likely to put new stresses on the nation’s roads, airports and ports in 2011, but congressional gridlock could stymie efforts to pass already delayed funding packages for capital investments in surface transportation and the air-travel network.

SAN FRANCISCO — A Superior Court judge has granted a restraining order temporarily blocking city and state transportation officials from inking the Presidio Parkway Project deal to upgrade the main roads linking the Golden Gate Bridge with San Francisco.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Southwest Florida Expressway Authority had the potential to issue hundreds of millions in bonds for a toll-road project that was once estimated to cost nearly $1 billion.

California's Business, Transportation & Housing Agency is in the early stages of a plan to remake the state's infrastructure investment market, with a clear focus on public-private partnerships.

Tax-exempt toll revenue bonds and public-private partnerships may be used to finance the $4.1 billion Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project.

The Regional Transportation Authority of Illinois board last week approved a $2.3 billion operating budget for 2011 that taps capital funds to cover operating costs as the agency waits for its share of local sales tax revenue to recover from the recession.

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority has approved a $680 million budget for 2011 that marks the first drop in annual spending in the agency's history.

With the year-end deadline approaching, Houston this week will refund $94 million of private-activity bonds for its airport system with variable-rate debt to gain exemption from federal alternative-minimum tax provisions.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Alaska’s Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority announced last week that the Federal Highway Administration has released a formal record of decision approving the route it has planned for its planned Knik Arm Crossing bridge project.

DALLAS — When the Texas Legislature convenes in January, the top priority is expected to be the estimated $25 billion budget shortfall and ongoing problems with education funding.

Fitch Ratings downgraded the underlying rating on Fresno’s $58 million of airport revenue bonds to BBB from BBB-plus.