Transportation industry

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Kentucky Turnpike Authority plans to begin pricing $334.2 million of new-money and refunding revenue bonds Monday for in-state retail investors. Final pricing is expected Tuesday.

The Georgia Transportation Investment Act of 2010, signed into law by Gov. Sonny Perdue last week, seeks to make the biggest investment in state transportation infrastructure in the last 50 years.

CHICAGO — The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority will enter the market as soon as tomorrow with roughly $400 million of fixed-rate refunding bonds, the first of two sales planned this year to restructure a chunk of the agency’s synthetically fixed-rate debt to reduce bank and liquidity risks.

Puerto Rico will refund prior Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority debt next week before heading to market with a combined new-money and refunding sales-tax bond deal.

DALLAS — The Louisiana House Ways and Means Committee has backed an 11-point outline of how the state should finance transportation projects.

Demand for federal high-speed rail funds has once again exceeded supply, as the Federal Railroad Administration confirmed this week that 23 states flooded it with a$137 million of applications for proposed projects.

The global airline industry is expected to post a large profit this year and see a significant increase in passenger traffic, an airline trade group announced yesterday.

Heavy-load road traffic associated with natural gas drilling in northwest Arkansas is causing highway damage that will cost much more to repair than the state highway department is receiving from the severance tax on gas.

WASHINGTON — State and local groups are bringing their concerns to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s upcoming TIGER II grants — $600 million to be distributed to highways, bridges, transit, freight and passenger rail, and ports — with ports requesting at least one-quarter of the money.

WASHINGTON — The Maryland Department of Transportation on Wednesday expects to competitively sell $140 million of bonds, including what could be MDOT’s first Build America Bonds.

MIAMI — With a clear need to invest in infrastructure and a large budget deficit, Puerto Rico is poised to launch its first public-private partnership projects.

Citigroup has priced a $165 million private placement deal for the Bahamas' Nassau Airport, a sell-side source said.

DALLAS — Corpus Christi International Airport is in danger of losing its investment-grade rating amid declining enplanements, Standard & Poor’s warned yesterday.

The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority will ask the Louisiana State Bond Commission to approve a $75 million offering to help finance a $165 million expansion of the city’s streetcar system.

Atlanta’s mass transit provider MARTA last week announced fare increases as well as reductions in staff and service in conjunction with the presentation of a fiscal 2011 budget.

The Michigan Supreme Court Friday handed state transportation officials a victory when it upheld a ruling requiring Manuel Moroun, the owner of the Ambassador Bridge, to rebuild the ramps and approaches leading to the span. The ruling could pave the way for forcing Maroun to conform to designs by the Michigan Department of Transportation.

DALLAS — Arkansas will refund three series of highway bonds with this week’s negotiated sale of $256.97 million of five-year general obligation bonds that will lower debt-service costs in fiscal 2011 by an anticipated $11 million.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida last week received $66.6 million out of $80 million in federal grants distributed by the U.S. Department of Transportation for high-speed rail development.

Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson traveled across the state last week for ceremonial signings of a long-term, $8.2 billion transportation program. The effort will be financed with proceeds from an estimated $1.7 billion in revenue bonds, a portion of a 1% sales tax increase, and higher fees for heavy trucks.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Wednesday celebrated the completion of a $737 million project to renovate the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.