Transportation industry

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.

The Georgia Department of Transportation has begun an outreach program to educate voters statewide about Senate Resolution 821, which was approved during the General Assembly’s session earlier this year.

The Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority next month will sell $30 million of unrated tax-exempt revenue bonds to help finance a new equipment facility and terminal upgrades for US Airways at the Philadelphia International Airport.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to release a $12.04 billion preliminary budget for 2011 today, officials said.

DALLAS — The Port Authority of Houston is issuing $300 million of general obligation debt this week to take out commercial paper for the port’s expansion and refund bonds sold in 2008.

Airports may begin seeking more public-private partnership agreements as financing needs mount and more private investors step forward, market participants said at a panel here last week.

DALLAS — Phoenix is preparing to issue $710 million of revenue bonds next week to ­finance a five-mile automated transit system linking Sky Harbor International Airport’s terminal to the city’s new light-rail line as well as parking and rental car facilities.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority hopes to replace a $634 million bond transaction scheduled for September with commercial paper, an agency official said Monday.

DALLAS — Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service expect to assign their lowest investment-grade rating to $404 million of tax-exempt private-activity bonds for a commuter rail line connecting downtown Denver to Denver International Airport.

Barclays Capital will serve as senior manager on a $1.2 billion New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority deal set to price in August or September.