Transportation industry

CHICAGO - Cleveland today will begin to price $160 million of fixed-rate airport revenue bonds and later this month follow with a $50 million variable-rate transaction.

WASHINGTON - The Congressional Budget Office has issued a report analyzing the revenue effects of 188 budget options, including replacing exempt interest earnings from muni bonds with tax credits beginning in 2011, which it says would generate $19.8 billion over the next 10 years.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will now look for a new general manager after Daniel Grabauskas Friday stepped down from the post under pressure from the Gov. Deval Patrick administration.

Moody’s Investors Service Tuesday downgraded the New Orleans Port Board of Commissioners revenue bonds to Baa1 from A2.

DALLAS - The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is accelerating plans for the $623 million U.S. 290 tollway near Austin to take advantage of federal stimulus funds, officials said.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, accompanied by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Tuesday made one of several stops in the Bluegrass State to ceremonially signing new legislation clearing the way for the two states to finance the $4.1 billion Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project.

Private-sector infrastructure executives in the U.S. are concerned that current investment in infrastructure is inadequate to create long-term economic growth, and that government ineffectiveness and poor economic conditions are more of a barrier to projects than the lack of available financing.

DALLAS - The North Texas Tollway Authority yesterday increased the size of its commercial paper refinancing and sold $1.4 billion in bonds, including $825 million of taxable Build America Bonds.

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority should create a separate fund for debt service and institute a rolling five-year capital plan, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a campaign event yesterday.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The Mississippi Department of Transportation has once again delayed the receipt of proposals for its first public-private partnership toll road project.

Texas Department of Transportation officials said last week the state will spend a record $5.9 billion on road projects in fiscal 2010, followed by another $5 billion in fiscal 2011.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation will use federal stimulus funds to replace 63 of the 6,773 obsolete bridges in the state. Another 53 structures will be renovated with the funding.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority today will launch the sale of as much as $853 million of bonds - including about $360 million of taxable Build America Bonds - to fund construction of a new Metrorail line that will connect riders with the Dulles International Airport.

WASHINGTON - President Obama is expected to soon sign a bill to provide the federal highway trust fund with $7 billion of extra cash, which would keep money flowing to states for transportation projects while lawmakers settle their dispute over an 18-month extension to the current law that expires Sept. 30.

DALLAS — Two large deals that include Build America Bonds are coming to market this week in Texas.

The New York State Thruway Authority has failed to fully implement debt issuance recommendations made by the state comptroller's office four years ago, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said on Friday.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chairman of the House Transportation Committee’s highways and transit panel, introduced a bill this week that he said would pay for a $450 billion to $500 billion, multi-year transportation bill to replace the current law, which expires Sept. 30.

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski this week signed legislation that raises $300 million a year for spending on public transit, rails, ports, airports, roads and bridges.

The struggling state of the California economy remains evident in a report released this week on new vehicle sales.

In contrast to the recent months of uncertainty swirling around the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's financial health, the New York agency released its preliminary 2010 budget and financial plan with little fanfare at its board meeting yesterday.