Transportation industry

WASHINGTON — A Senate committee will vote during the week of July 20 on an extension to prevent the dwindling highway trust fund from going broke before Congress can pass a multi-year reauthorization bill, its chairman said yesterday.

The New York State Thruway Authority plans to issue up to $700 million of two-year bond anticipation notes to fund the remainder of its five-year capital program, the agency said yesterday at its monthly board meeting.

The Las Vegas Monorail Co. continues on its one-way journey toward default, according to Fitch Ratings, which Monday downgraded its underlying rating on the monorail operator’s first-tier debt to C from CC.

The House Transportation Committee's highways and transit subcommittee approved a bipartisan $450 billion multi-year transportation bill yesterday after members soundly rejected the Obama administration's plan to delay the process for 18 months.

DALLAS - A campaign by Golden, Colo., to discourage investment in a privately funded tollway on the city's periphery will not halt the project, an official with the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority said.

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority could face an estimated $268 million termination payment to UBS Securities LLC on five swaps after Standard & Poor's yesterday downgraded Ambac Assurance Corp., which insures the derivatives, to BBB from A.

St. Louis this week released an addendum to the preliminary offering statement on an upcoming $230 million revenue bond sale for Lambert-St. Louis International Airport that includes an updated financial feasibility study following American Airlines’ announcement that it plans to cut 18 daily flights.

Standard & Poor’s last week revised its outlook on the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority’s AA-plus rating to stable from positive over the fiscal and capital pressures the system faces and the potential effect on future debt service coverage levels.

Assuming it is able to go forward, a $4.9 billion mega-project in Brooklyn will proceed in stages under a modified plan the Empire State Development Corp. adopted yesterday at its monthly board meeting.

WASHINGTON - The transportation bill scheduled for its first vote in a House subcommittee this week would drastically alter the ability of state and local governments to toll and enter into public-private partnerships by creating a federal office that would oversee and approve such actions for highways financed with federal aid.

In the first deal backed by a new payroll tax, New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to go into the short-term market with up to $600 million of revenue anticipation notes, officials said yesterday.

WASHINGTON — The House Transportation Committee Monday unveiled a 775-page, multi-year transportation infrastructure bill that is to be voted on Wednesday by its transit and highways subcommittee.

Massachusetts lawmakers late yesterday voted to abolish the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority by the end of 2009 and create a new agency with bonding authority that would oversee most transportation programs in the state and take on MassPike’s $2.2 billion of outstanding debt.

WASHINGTON — States and other sponsors of high-speed rail projects must submit pre-applications for a share of the more than $8 billion of available funding no later than July 10, the Federal Railroad Administration said this week in interim guidance that outlines the criteria for such projects.

The California Alternative Energy and Advance Transportation Financing Authority has announced the closure of a $20 million clean renewable energy bond deal on behalf of the California Department of Transportation.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Los Angeles Harbor Department plans to sell $200 million of new-money bonds and up to $550 million of refunding debt next week.

WASHINGTON — House Transportation Committee leaders yesterday released a voluminous blueprint for a soon-to-be-introduced bill that would create a national infrastructure bank to help states, localities and private parties finance transportation projects.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors Tuesday gave the go-ahead for a revenue bond issue of up to $250 million for the county’s John Wayne Airport.

WASHINGTON — The $450 billion transportation bill that is to be introduced soon by the House Transportation Committee chairman will provide $1 billion of federal funds for designated metropolitan planning organizations to issue bonds to finance transportation projects.

CHICAGO - St. Louis enters the market next week with up to $230 million of Lambert St. Louis International Airport revenue bonds to raise $126 million for projects and to refund bonds through a tender option designed to take advantage of the relief provided by the federal stimulus from the alternative minimum tax.