Transportation industry

CHICAGO — With Illinois behind a record $290 million in payments to the Regional Transportation Authority, the agency is awaiting Gov. Pat Quinn’s signature on a bill that would allow it to issue an additional $140 million of taxable cash-flow notes to keep Chicago-area trains and buses running.

Eleven Northeast states are asking the Federal Railroad Administration to cover $15 million of an $18.8 million study they hope will help improve and expand high-speed rail service in their corridor.

New Jersey legislators last week passed a resolution that urges the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to develop funding and engineering solutions to increase the Bayonne Bridge’s air clearance and accommodate larger vessels.

WASHINGTON — Congressional committees have set a July 4 target date for the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill to be signed into law, but lawmakers must clear a few obstacles including their differences over a bond-related provision before the legislation can be finalized.

DALLAS — The Louisiana State Bond Commission gave its approval yesterday to refunding and restructuring $300 million of fuel-tax bonds issued in May 2009 to finance a portion of a constitutionally mandated transportation program.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded its underlying rating for the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency’s toll revenue bonds to BBB-minus from BBB.

CHICAGO — The Michigan House is expected to vote Tuesday on a bill that would advance a controversial $2 billion bond-funded bridge spanning the busy Detroit-Canada trade route.

The Atlanta BeltLine project last week was selected as the Best 2009 Bond Deal at the Council of Development Finance Agencies’ 2010 Annual Development Finance Summit in Portland, Ore.

The Cincinnati City Council last week passed a measure to issue up to $64 million in bonds to advance a long-planned $128 million project to build a streetcar.

Chicago is advancing measures to help finance the next phase of its $8 billion runway expansion at O’Hare International Airport.

Transportation stakeholders are opposed to a provision in a draft climate-change bill introduced in the Senate that would generate more revenue based on emissions from the sector than would be re-invested in infrastructure or transportation projects.

DALLAS — Denver’s latest plan to build a long-delayed hotel at Denver International Airport would use revenue bonds to finance construction of the facility atop a planned commuter rail line at the south end of the landmark Jeppesen Terminal.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — California’s Bay Area Toll Authority will hit the market next month with a hefty Build America Bond deal.

BRADENTON, Fla. — After years of study and indecision, Hillsborough County, Fla., officials have agreed to place on November’s ballot a proposal to increase the sales tax by 1% to fund long-term mass transit projects, including light rail.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation this week will price $893.8 million of fixed-rate senior revenue bonds to refinance Metropolitan Highway System debt it took on from the former Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, followed by a $207.6 million variable-rate senior debt sale.

New York’s cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced yesterday that a reorganization of its bridge and tunnel maintenance operations would save $25 million annually.

Ambac Assurance Corp. will appeal a Nevada bankruptcy judge’s ruling that the Las Vegas Monorail Co. was entitled to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 11.

WASHINGTON — State and local officials yesterday urged members of a House Ways and Means Committee panel to create and capitalize a national infrastructure bank, but neither they nor the lawmakers could agree on how to finance or structure the bank.

WASHINGTON — The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has temporarily suspended a $650 million deal for its Metrorail extension project, citing market volatility. However, the delay will not affect construction, authority officials said.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is pioneering a unique type of public-private partnership to replace the aging Goethals Bridge.