Transportation industry

CHICAGO — Illinois announced yesterday plans to competitively sell $400 million of new-money general obligation bonds on Sept. 16, the first leg of borrowing to finance shovel-ready road and bridge projects that are part of a $31 billion capital program.

WASHINGTON - An advocacy group in Virginia is suing federal and state transportation officials over the Dulles Toll Road, arguing that drivers are being illegally charged tolls used to back bonds issued for a Dulles Metrorail project.

CHICAGO - Southeast Michigan needs to invest more than double the $68 billion it currently plans to spend over the next 26 years to adequately address all its transportation needs, according to a report released this week by a regional government planning group.

WASHINGTON - At least two toll authorities are competing for funds from a federal grant program set up under the stimulus law after several others helped finance their projects with Build America Bonds, which also were authorized by the stimulus package.

SAN FRANCISCO — A state Superior Court judge this week handed down what appears to be a new roadblock to California’s bond-financed high-speed passenger rail project.

DALLAS — Louisiana’s top highway official told lawmakers on Wednesday that soon there will be no money available for new highway projects unless additional funding sources are provided.

WASHINGTON - At least 11 states have submitted requests for the first portion of $8 billion of federal high-speed rail stimulus funds. California, Florida, Michigan, New York, and Texas alone requested more than $4.5 billion for planning, engineering, and early construction of high-speed rail projects.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority yesterday approved refunding up to $900 million of outstanding debt to generate savings for the agency.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced Monday that Michigan has applied for $830 million in federal stimulus funds as the first step in setting up high-speed rail across the state.

SAN FRANCISCO - Supporters of a planned Alaska toll bridge to be funded through a public-private partnership appear to have won a round this summer in legal maneuvering over the project's future, though major financing hurdles remain to be crossed.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's bond ratings may be too high, according to a report released by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch yesterday.

CHICAGO - St. Louis' Metro has settled on restructuring plans for two pieces of its debt as the transit agency seeks to chip away at a series of operational and capital challenges that prompted a two-notch downgrade earlier this year and drove steep service cuts.

DALLAS - The North Texas Tollway Authority expects to issue $620 million of toll revenue bonds and $740 million in other forms of debt to design and build a new toll highway in western Dallas County, officials said.

WASHINGTON — Arlington County, Va., is suing state and U.S. transportation officials to stop a high-occupancy toll lanes project on Interstate 395 and I-95, alleging an "arbitrary and capricious" failure to do adequate research on environmental and other impacts.

Bills recently introduced by key members in the House and Senate would set up a major deterrent to banks and other equity investors seeking to force issuers to fork over termination payments for lease-back deals. The prospect of such deal terminations threatened to jeopardize the fiscal conditions of transit agencies and electrical utilities last year after credit rating downgradings of insurers on the deals.

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority is no longer on watch list for a possible downgrade of its transportation revenue bonds, Moody's Investors Service said yesterday. The rating agency affirmed the credit's A2 rating and said its outlook was stable.

CHICAGO - In a larger version of its spring general obligation sale, Wisconsin is planning to competitively sell $423 million of new-money GO bonds on Wednesday in a deal divided into two series with bidders able to submit tax-exempt and taxable bids on the later maturities.

DALLAS - The Texas Transportation Commission will issue the state's largest tranche of Build America Bonds to date, with $1.1 billion of the taxable debt scheduled to price on Wednesday.

DALLAS - Fitch Ratings has downgraded $120 million of taxable revenue bonds sold in 2001 for a car rental facility at Houston Intercontinental Airport. Citing declining coverage ratios, Fitch cut the rating on the debt one notch to A-minus from A.

An arbitration panel last week awarded unionized transit workers at New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority an 11.3% raise over three years. The raises for Transit Workers Union Local 100 workers will cost an estimated $350 million, the MTA said.