Transportation industry

Officials in Chandler said the Phoenix suburb may need a bond program within the next five years to keep up with street upkeep expenses that are expected to almost double by 2014.

The Senate last week approved a fiscal 2010 transportation and housing appropriations bill that included more than $1 billion each for rail projects and discretionary grants. Now the Senate and House, which passed its bill in July, must meet to resolve their differences over a national infrastructure bank, high-speed rail, and community development block grants.

DALLAS - Now that the Dallas Cowboys have launched their first season in their new $1.2 billion stadium in Arlington, the city of Irving is preparing to implode the team's old home - Texas Stadium - and use the site to stage a massive freeway reconstruction effort.

The Delaware River Port Authority last week approved the termination of a forward-starting swap with UBS Securities LLC at an estimated cost to the agency of $35 million.

The New York State Thruway Authority last week announced its selection of firms to serve as bond counsel on state-supported debt.

WASHINGTON — The House Transportation Committee is expected to vote next week on a bill to extend the current transportation authorization law before it expires at the end of the month, but still needs to bridge the large gap between its own timeline and the Senate’s before the extension can move forward.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The $1 billion Port of Miami Tunnel project inched forward Tuesday when Miami-Dade County commissioners approved an irrevocable $75 million letter of credit provided by Wachovia Bank NA to be used in helping to fund a portion of the project.

So many state and local governments are in fierce competition for $1.5 billion of discretionary grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation that it may be impossible for most of them to receive funding.

CHICAGO - Michigan could partner with private companies to build or operate its highways and bridges to boost badly needed transportation revenue under a bill being considered by the Legislature.

DALLAS - With revenues falling and costs rising, the Regional Transportation District of metropolitan Denver is developing a backup plan for its FasTracks transit program in the event voters refuse to raise more sales taxes to complete all the projects.

The South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank expects to competitively sell today $93.6 million of revenue bonds to refund debt issued between 1998 and 2000.

Fitch Ratings Tuesday downgraded $236 million of outstanding Alabama State Port Authority revenue bonds to BBB-plus from A-minus and said the outlook is stable.

DALLAS — The first of two refunding deals planned by the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport will be the largest bond issue this week in Texas.

The Senate is likely to decide this week whether it will join the House in approving funds that could be used to establish a national infrastructure bank and pay for high-speed rail projects.

DALLAS — Tulsa, Okla., will finance the next 12 months of its five-year street improvement program with the proceeds from Thursday’s competitive sale of $70 million of general obligation bonds.

The Detroit Metropolitan Airport plans to install up to 22 gaming machines to lift revenue amid falling flight traffic.

Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Jim Aloisi announced Friday that he will step down from his post by Nov. 1, the same time that a new bonding authority, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, will begin overseeing most surface transportation systems throughout the state.

David Mack rebuffed New York Gov. David Paterson’s call to step down as vice chairman of the board at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and as a board member of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey last week.

The New York Senate last week confirmed Jay Walder as the new chairman and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

SAN FRANCISCO — Like a patron at a Las Vegas buffet, the airport that serves the city is sampling a variety of the bond provisions enacted in this year’s federal stimulus bill.