Transportation industry

Moody’s Investors Service late Tuesday upgraded to A1 from A2 the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, affecting $327 million of debt. The outlook is stable.

DALLAS — Oklahoma is preparing a list of highway projects that could get under way quickly if Congress approves President Obama’s proposed $50 billion infrastructure stimulus program.

CHICAGO — The Chicago City Council Wednesday approved up to $1 billion of new-money and refunding debt that will help the city keep its $8 billion O’Hare International Airport expansion project on track as negotiations with the airlines over upcoming projects continue.

The West Virginia Parkways Authority cleared a technical hurdle last week toward advancing a bond deal for the U.S. 35 toll road and the issue could be priced by the end of the year.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is revising the process by which it will seek a developer for a new multi-modal passenger terminal in downtown Atlanta.

CHICAGO — The Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee Tuesday advanced the sale of up to $1 billion of new-money and refunding O’Hare International Airport revenue bonds and debt backed by passenger facility charges to raise funds for the second phase of an $8 billion expansion that has yet to win airline approval.

WASHINGTON — The president is expected Wednesday in Cleveland to announce details of a $50 billion measure that would lead into a long-term program containing a national infrastructure bank — a proposal already offered by the administration but now being rolled out as part of an economic package.

DALLAS — The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority will build two new streetcar lines with proceeds from the upcoming negotiated sale of $75 million of sales tax revenue bonds.

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Alaska’s state airport authority will sell $174 million of tax-exempt paper next week to pay for debt refunding and runway repairs, according to a state official.

The Regional Transportation Authority of Illinois board has elected John Gates Jr. to serve as its new chairman, filling the vacancy left by Jim Reilly who resigned in May to serve as the special trustee overseeing reforms at the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority.

WASHINGTON — Transportation stakeholders expecting a comprehensive bill anytime soon could be disappointed as major legislation reauthorizing federal highway and transit programs could be delayed until 2013, sources said last week.

Fitch Ratings last week upgraded the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority to AA from A-plus, affecting $327 million of outstanding debt.

The Delaware River Port Authority on Thursday announced a hiring freeze and said it will cut next year’s budget by 2%, or $2.6 million, to reduce the bi-state agency’s spending.

The New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority on Thursday approved a $1.4 billion new-money and refinancing deal that will most likely include taxable Build America Bonds.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority has delayed for a month oral presentations in the selection of underwriters and swap counterparties, the agency confirmed Wednesday.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Atlanta announced a lease agreement with airlines Tuesday that should enable the city to move forward with a long-awaited financing for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

DALLAS — Less than two months after a record $1.5 billion deal, the Texas Transportation Commission is preparing another $1 billion issue of general obligation bonds.

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania agree that the state needs a long-term transportation funding strategy, but have yet to find consensus on how the state should pay for roads, bridges, and public transit.

Public finance attorney Kenneth Lind was made partner at Nixon Peabody LLP, the firm announced Tuesday. Lind has served as bond counsel at the firm’s New York City office since leaving the state Metropolitan Transportation Authority in January 2008, where he had been acting finance director.

CHICAGO — A month after winning city and county approval to sell its water and sewer system, Indianapolis stands poised to enter into a 50-year lease of its parking meters in exchange for cash and a piece of the annual parking revenue.