Transportation industry

ALAMEDA, Calif. — A year and a half after Seattle-area voters approved a sales tax hike to finance $18 billion in mass transit projects, a quarter of that amount has evaporated due to reduced economic activity.

DALLAS — Austin Bergstrom International Airport’s Hilton hotel faces a deepening financial hole in the wake of a series of defaults on $49 million of revenue bonds, according to a recent audit.

DALLAS — Austin voters will decide in November on $90 million of general obligation bonds devoted to transportation efforts following unanimous action by the City Council.

The Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority last week announced that it has qualified 115 teams to participate in a request for proposals to renovate public schools.

Pennsylvania’s legislature will hold a hearing next month on possible mismanagement at the Delaware River Port Authority.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on Thursday approved a $1.2 billion expansion of a terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport on behalf of Delta Air Lines and its partners.

Massachusetts hospitals and higher educational institutions could face higher borrowing costs in the future as the state plans to fold the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority into the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency.

WASHINGTON — A new study released this week by the Government Accountability Office shows that nearly all states have gotten back at least as much money as they contributed to the federal highway trust fund — a revelation that contradicts some lawmakers’ claims that certain states are subsidizing others’ highway and bridge costs under the current system.

CHICAGO — Fitch Ratings on Monday downgraded more than $220 million of general airport revenue bonds issued for Kansas City International Airport by one notch due to a decline in debt-service coverage ratios and increased exposure to non-airline related revenues.

CHICAGO — Branson Airport LLC dipped into reserves to cover its July 1 debt-service payment on $113 million of unrated tax-exempt bonds as it struggles to meet traffic projections for the privately built and operated Missouri facility.

DALLAS — After years of planning, Colorado’s Regional Transportation District is preparing to issue $404 million of tax-exempt private-activity bonds Wednesday to finance a 23-mile commuter line linking Denver International Airport to a new downtown transit hub at Union Station.

The New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority plans to use an outside financial adviser to help craft a financing plan as it faces the prospect of running out of money for new capital projects by July 2011.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Miami-Dade County Expressway Authority, after a four-year hiatus, is back in the bond market this week with $345 million of toll-revenue bonds.

The Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnership Authority last week received eight responses from infrastructure investment firms looking to bid on a potential long-term lease agreement for the commonwealth’s busiest roadway.

Pennsylvania and New Jersey are looking to a potential public-private partnership to help finance replacement of the 50-year old Scudder Falls Bridge, which connects the two states over the Delaware River.

Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie last week called for budget and management audits of the Delaware River Port Authority, as the bi-state agency has come under scrutiny recently for certain management practices.

A new passenger-rail tunnel that will run under the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York could increase home values by $18 billion and generate $375 million of new property tax revenue for municipalities, a Regional Plan Association report released last week said.

Connecticut plans to apply for $220 million of federal funds to upgrade a rail corridor between New Haven and Springfield, Mass., Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced last week. If approved, the state would match the funds with $260 million of bond proceeds. The state Bond Commission will consider the issue when it meets Aug. 11.

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission chief executive officer Joseph Brimmeier Wednesday urged more tolling of interstate highways to help generate additional revenue for transportation needs.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday voted to hold hearings on fare and toll increases to help balance its 2011 ­budget.