Transportation industry

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.

WASHINGTON - Maryland will begin selling bonds to retail investors on a negotiated basis tomorrow for three days and will then sell bonds to institutional investors on a competitive basis on Wednesday in a $485 million hybrid transaction.

WASHINGTON - House lawmakers voted 363 to 68 late yesterday to approve a bill that would provide $7 billion to the highway trust fund and keep money flowing to states through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.

CHICAGO - Facing tough national competition, eight Midwestern governors joined together this week to present a united front in their push to land a share of $8 billion in federal funds available for high-speed rail projects from the economic stimulus program.

WASHINGTON - House Ways and Means Committee chairman Rep. Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., yesterday introduced a bill that would provide $5 billion to the highway trust fund so that it stays solvent through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Abuse of authority and an apparently unauthorized accounting practice resulted in a financial deficit at the Georgia Department of Transportation that violated the state's constitution, according to investigations released late Monday by the state's auditor and inspector general.

The New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority yesterday approved $1.6 billion of borrowing for capital projects, including a $150 million variable-rate transaction that will help address existing swap agreements.

The Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority last week approved the sale of $152 million of taxable Build America Bonds for state road and bridge projects.

WASHINGTON — Key lawmakers yesterday urged the revenue panel of the House Ways and Means Committee to immediately approve a short-term legislative fix for the expected shortfall in the highway trust fund, and in the long run to move toward a vehicle mileage tax to pay for transportation.

CHICAGO — The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission is gearing up to enter the market in mid-September with a $600 million Garvee sale to fund projects under the state’s Safe and Sound Bridge program that includes the upgrading or reconstruction of 802 bridges statewide.