Transportation industry

Sean Connaughton, appointed by governor-elect Robert F. McDonnell to be secretary of transportation, will be jumping into his new position a month after the Virginia Department of Transportation lowered its revenue estimates for fiscal 2010.

DALLAS — A joint Kansas legislative committee has passed along two versions of a plan for financing the state’s next 10-year transportation effort to the Legislature, which will begin its 2010 session on Monday.

What do you get when you mix a protracted recession with a series of overly optimistic projections and a credit guarantee from a borderline insolvent bond insurer?

CHICAGO — Standard & Poor’s has upgraded 10 local borrowers that have issued debt through the Michigan Transportation Fund — boosting most of them to top AAA marks— primarily due to high debt-service coverage.

WASHINGTON — For cash-strapped state and local governments that have critical transportation infrastructure needs, but no money to pay for them, the coming year will be bittersweet.

Gary Dellaverson, chief financial officer of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, retired last week after 19 years at the agency.

WASHINGTON — The coming year could be fertile ground for public-private partnerships, especially in the transportation sector, but states and localities probably will have to go without federal help and enter deals cautiously so as not to kill public support for them, market sources say.

A Michigan state lawmaker representing Detroit introduced a bill that would establish a bond-issuing regional mass transit authority for his region.

Fitch Ratings last week downgraded to A from A-plus roughly $1.24 billion of debt issued on behalf of the Indianapolis Airport Authority.

New Jersey Gov.-elect Chris Christie will take office next month, and along with confronting high property taxes, a heavy debt burden, and the issue of encouraging shared services at the local level, the new administration will face a transportation funding spigot set to dry up by mid-2011.

Fitch Ratings revised its outlook on New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority's revenue bonds and dedicated tax-fund bonds to negative from stable last week.

New York Gov. David Paterson doesn't want to cut capital spending, but delaying projects may be inevitable, he said in an exclusive interview with The Bond Buyer.

Chicago's $8 billion expansion of O'Hare International Airport won a major court victory late last week that paves the way for its acquisition and relocation of a cemetery now in the path of a planned runway.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear announced late last week the sale of $100 million of grant anticipation revenue vehicle bonds for the Ohio River Bridge Project.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe last week shot down a proposal to shift a portion of sales tax revenues to highway projects before a transportation financing committee had a chance to suggest the move.

New Jersey will take on $157.4 million of moral obligation debt this week as the South Jersey Port Corp. will issue the marine terminal revenue bonds with the expectation that state allocations to meet the corporation's debt service costs will continue.

Moody's Investors Service last week revised the outlook of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority to negative from stable and affirmed its A2 rating.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority did not violate New York laws when it agreed to sell the development rights over rail yards in Brooklyn to Forest City Ratner Cos., a state Supreme Court judge ruled last week.

The Regional Transportation Authority early next month will issue $179 million of general obligation bonds under its deal with Illinois aimed at freeing up capital funds to help close a fiscal 2010 budget gap at the Chicago Transit Authority without a fare hike.

Financing for road-widening projects and upgrades to its two toll roads will keep the New Jersey Turnpike Authority issuing debt in 2010 after selling $1.75 billion of new-money bonds in 2009.