Transportation industry

The Port of Baltimore announced Thursday that it has signed a six-year contract extension with its largest shipping company.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey approved a $750 million sale of consolidated bonds and notes at its board meeting on Thursday. The proceeds will fund the World Trade Center redevelopment.

CHICAGO - Fitch Ratings on Friday revised its outlook on the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority's credit to negative as it prepares to enter the market as soon as next week with a $500 million financing that - based on current market conditions - could include $400 million of Build America Bonds.

SAN FRANCISCO — West Coast ports are weathering what may be the toughest storm they’ve ever faced.

Moody’s Investors Service Wednesday gave the troubled Las Vegas Monorail project another debt downgrade, to Ca from Caa2.

WASHINGTON - Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood this week urged senators to restructure how funding is allocated for transportation infrastructure to make it easier for smaller municipalities and rural areas to obtain funds directly, and told House members that economic recovery funding will finance more projects than originally anticipated.

Officials from New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority next month will submit an 18-month fiscal plan to help close a $621 million budget gap for fiscal 2009 and address a deficit of more than $1 billion for fiscal 2010, which begins Jan. 1.

Elk Grove Village last week announced it would drop its long-standing opposition and legal challenge to Chicago’s $7.5 billion expansion of O’Hare International Airport.

While Albany lawmakers continue to debate a financial rescue plan for New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, agency officials yesterday announced an additional $621 million shortfall for fiscal 2009, bringing the deficit to $1.8 billion.

DALLAS - Louisiana will issue at least $303.5 million of 35-year, second-lien gasoline and fuel tax bonds this week in a negotiated sale that will benefit the state's ongoing $5.2 billion transportation program.

The Maryland Department of Transportation expects to competitively sell $110 million of revenue transportation bonds on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — Transportation stakeholders are urging increased support from the Department of Transportation for state and local governments and railroads to take advantage of a rail financing program that provides low-interest federal loans and credit for infrastructure projects and debt refinancing.

Keeping Massachusetts’ main east-west roadway in a state of good repair will cost $544 million through 2017, according to a recent review of the 123-mile Western Turnpike.

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority's coffers may run dry by June 30 due to unforeseen infrastructure needs and an 8% dip in traffic on the Metropolitan Highway System in March.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is experiencing severe budget constraints affecting operations, and sales tax revenues dedicated to paying debt service are down.

DALLAS - The North Texas Tollway Authority is considering issuing as much as $500 million of taxable Build America Bonds in June, though discussions are very preliminary, officials say.

CHICAGO - Chicago's $2.52 billion groundbreaking agreement to lease Midway Airport to a private consortium under a federal pilot program was canceled yesterday over the group's inability to raise financing for the 99-year transaction amid the ongoing international credit crunch.

The New York State Senate Democratic majority offered a new rescue package for the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority late Monday. The proposal would raise $1.76 billion annually, which includes debt service on $1.2 billion of bonds that would finance road, bridge and rail projects in upstate New York and Long Island, Austin Shafran, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, said. The proposal would eliminate service cuts and reduce fare and toll yield hikes to 8% from the 23% the MTA board approved last month, Shafran said.

John McGee, chief financial officer of the Arizona Department of Transportation, said last week that public-private partnerships could help solve at least part of the state’s transportation funding problem.

Standard & Poor’s last week raised $4.8 billion of outstanding New Jersey Turnpike Authority revenue bonds to A-plus from A. The outlook is stable.