Transportation industry

The U.S. Department of Transportation this week signed off on an agreement to provide its share of full funding - $900 million - for the $5.2 billion Dulles Metrorail extension project, which will be financed with $2 billion of bonds beginning this spring.

Rhode Island plans to sell $350 million of tax anticipation notes and $50 million of bonds through the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority, under Gov. Donald Carcieri's fiscal 2010 budget proposal.

DALLAS - The Texas Transportation Commission voted last week to use $1.2 billion of federal stimulus funds to move forward with numerous projects across the state, including some controversial toll roads.

The U.S. Department of Transportation this week granted the Michigan Strategic Fund a two-month extension to approve $787 million in private-activity bonds on behalf of a company planning to build a bridge spanning the busy trade route between Detroit and Canada.

If Congress fails to pass a bill to replace the current surface transportation law by the end of this fiscal year, federal highway aid to states will drop by 50% and transit aid will drop by 40%, Rep. Peter DeFazio warned yesterday.

A $10.7 billion proposal to bring high-speed rail to New York could use a mix of federal stimulus money, state and federal grants, public-private partnerships, and bonding, according to a plan released yesterday.

Lawmakers need to consider moving toward "creative public-private partnerships," such as through the development of toll roads, in order to adequately fund the nation's infrastructure, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said at a public transportation conference here yesterday.

DALLAS - Despite a strong global economic ebb tide and hurricane damage, Gulf Coast ports are planning to use federal stimulus funds and continue issuing debt to build for what they hope will be a more promising future.

Airports are projecting they will need $94.4 billion of capital over the next five years, and may rely less on bond issuance to fulfill those needs, according to a report released Friday by the trade group Airports Council International-North America.

Many of the transit issuers in lease-back deals that face potentially huge termination fees because their guarantors' ratings have been downgraded have lowered their exposure to credit risks by unwinding or restructuring the transaction agreements, Moody's Investors Service found.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The Spain-based developer that won a contract to build the Florida Department of Transportation's first public-private partnership said banks oversubscribed to become part of the historic deal, an accomplishment itself in a U.S. industry typically relying on bond financing.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The Florida Department of Transportation Tuesday closed on the $1.8 billion Interstate 595 project in Broward County with I-595 Express LLC, a consortium whose main sponsor and equity partner is ACS Infrastructure Development.

Independent Massachusetts bonding authorities would no longer have the power to enter into derivative transactions if lawmakers approve, as amended, a bill to help the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority ward off a potential $350 million termination-event fee.

DALLAS - The Harris County, Tex., Metropolitan Transit Authority will invest $1.5 billion to build 20 miles of light rail under a plan approved by the board of directors Wednesday.

DALLAS - Louisiana will accept up to $2.5 billion of federal stimulus funds over the next two years, but Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration is reviewing another $1.5 billion allocated to the state before deciding whether to use the available funds.

The Georgia State Transportation Board last week voted to fire Department of Transportation Commissioner Gena Evans.

The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority last Thursday increased tolls in central Florida for the first time in nearly nine years. The base toll will increase 25 cents beginning April 5 with future increases every five years based on the consumer price index.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is slated to vote today on two bills that would authorize federal funding for water infrastructure and airports - including bond-related funds - and to outline how the fiscal 2010 budget summary released by the White House last week would affect infrastructure.

CHICAGO - Months after narrowly avoiding its first default, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority is faced with another delinquent bond-fund borrower that has warned it would likely have a tough time making its full monthly debt payments this year due to the weak economy.

DALLAS - Utah will turn to the bond market to ease its budget crunch, issuing up to $3.3 billion of debt this year for expansion of Interstate 15 under an agreement between Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and legislative leaders.