Transportation industry

WASHINGTON — State plans for high-speed rail lines are in danger due to a lack of stable funding and underdeveloped federal leadership and guidance, according to a new report by the Government Accountability ­Office.

Fiscally challenged New York has come through with some subsidies for the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority, officials said Monday.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation yesterday approved a $10.3 billion, five-year capital plan along with a $698 million operating budget for fiscal 2011.

Swap Financial Group LLC is making a second bid to become the derivatives adviser for New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, after trimming fees one authority official labeled “usurious.”

The Massachusetts Port Authority last week approved its expected acquisition of the Worcester Regional Airport from the city of Worcester.

WASHINGTON — The executives of United and Continental airlines yesterday assured members of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee that airline service would not be cut if their companies merge.

DALLAS — The winning bidder for Denver’s 23-mile rail line from downtown to Denver International Airport says it can bring the project to completion 11 months earlier than expected and $300 million under budget.

DALLAS — The Louisiana State Bond Commission on Thursday selected an underwriting team for the planned sale of $500 million of fuel tax revenue bonds to finance a constitutionally mandated road and bridge construction program.

Here comes the private sector.

The nascent nationwide push for high-speed rail still needs a specific funding plan and a mix of federal, local and private sources are now being explored, U.S. Department of Transportation officials said yesterday.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed Tuesday appointed Robert Kennedy as acting general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, effective June 30.

With an eye toward reducing risk and increasing returns, the Florida State Board of Administration last week voted to revise investment strategies at the country’s fourth-largest public pension fund and to invest in infrastructure projects, including airports and roads.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Georgia Department of Transportation Monday announced the appointment of Sandra Burgess as the new director of its public-private partnership program.

The Michigan Department of Transportation last week released revenue projections for a second bridge spanning the Detroit River as the Senate gears up for one of the most debated and controversial votes of the session.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority in central Florida today hopes to begin retail pricing of a two-pronged transaction — including up to $250 million of fixed-rate refunding revenue bonds and a restructuring of $250 million of variable-rate bonds with the termination of associated swaps.

A Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official reassured New Jersey lawmakers yesterday that the agency is moving quickly to update or replace the Bayonne Bridge, a move that would potentially increase shipping activity in the area.

CHICAGO — Wisconsin will competitively sell $800 million of one-year operating notes tomorrow and is gearing up to issue about $200 million of new-money transportation revenue bonds next month, while a planned general obligation refunding remains on hold.

Transportation stakeholders are concerned that the Obama administration has not released a set of reauthorization principles by the time Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said it would.

WASHINGTON — A group of Senate Democrats sent a letter yesterday to Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., urging them to add billions of dollars for transportation-related investments to the draft climate and energy bill the two recently unveiled.

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority wants ideas on how to create a new credit with revenue streams enacted in last year’s state bailout, according to its first request for proposals for underwriting services in five years.