Transportation industry

CHICAGO - The Minnesota Metropolitan Airports Commission will vote next month on a $125.8 million capital budget, as a $800 million terminal expansion remains on hold and officials await a proposal from Delta Air Lines over repayment of commission-backed bonds issued for the former Northwest Airlines.

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama yesterday announced his economic team and said he has directed them to draft a broad, multibillion-dollar stimulus package within the next two months that would provide funds for infrastructure projects. He also warned that the deficit will grow significantly whether or not stimulus legislation is enacted and did not rule out repealing Bush administration tax cuts before they expire.

DALLAS - Utah has halted $3.9 billion of road projects representing all new construction amid a worsening budget crunch, officials said.

The Triborough Bridge connecting Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx was renamed the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge last week, but don’t look for TBTA — Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority — debt to be renamed “RFKBTA” bonds.

Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa., have introduced a bill that would provide up to $8 billion of private-activity bonds for high-speed rail projects, as well as create a new category of tax-credit bonds to further encourage rail development.

A plan to increase tolls in Massachusetts is facing resistance from legislative leaders, while Gov. Deval Patrick works on a plan to dismantle the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority even though rising debt service costs necessitate additional revenue for the agency in the short term.

The once high-profile plan to use a public-private partnership to build a rail link between Oakland International Airport and the Bay Area Rapid Transit District’s rail system appears to have expired quietly.

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled a beggar's budget yesterday that threatens draconian service cuts and fare and toll increases if it doesn't get help from the city, state and federal governments. In order to close a $1.2 billion gap in 2009, the MTA would reduce staff and cut subway lines and bus routes as well as hiking tolls and fares to yield an additional 23% of revenue.

CHICAGO - Chicago's $8 billion O'Hare International Airport runway reconfiguration and expansion program marked a major milestone yesterday with the official opening of the first new runway amid questions over airlines' financial support for the future phases of the massive construction project.

CHICAGO - The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority board yesterday approved a $1.8 billion, bond-financed plan to build new interstate interchanges and add bus and ride-sharing commuter lanes - investments billed as the second phase of the $6.3 billion congestion-relief program now underway.

The New York State Thruway Authority yesterday approved a $1.16 billion budget for 2009 that includes increased bonding over the current year.

Any economic stimulus plan considered by Congress should include proposals for infrastructure spending and state aid, economists told members of the Senate Budget Committee at a hearing yesterday.

BRADENTON, Fla. - In a difficult market for issuers with top ratings, let alone a new credit with a large amount of debt to sell, the North Carolina Turnpike Authority hopes to get into the bond market early in December for its first-ever issuance - a $650 million deal to finance its first project.

CHICAGO - Michigan lawmakers are expected to tackle the issue of transportation funding in their upcoming lame-duck session, mulling a slew of new revenue options ranging from reconfiguring the state's gas tax and implementing tolls on major highways to hiking the sales tax.

CHICAGO - Fresh from approving fare increases to shore up its operating budget, the Chicago Transit Authority is expected to enter the market today with $175 million of grant-backed revenue bonds to speed up spending on capital projects.

As DHL Express prepares to cut up to 9,500 jobs nationally, most of which would come from its hub in Wilmington, the company last week said it would be willing to donate its airport there to a public entity for redevelopment. The 2,200-acre DHL Air Park is currently the largest privately run airport in the county.

WASHINGTON - Almost a dozen transit agencies are pressing Senate Finance Committee leaders to severely limit what banks and other investors in leaseback deals can obtain from them as the transactions unwind because of insurer rating downgrades.

BROOMFIELD, Colo. - Budget shortfalls and lack of access to capital markets for infrastructure projects may be sparking a transition period for financing that could ultimately prove beneficial for issuers over the long term, transportation experts said yesterday.

DALLAS - When the Texas Legislature opens in January, North Texas transportation planners will seek authority to create a tax base that could extend the region's growing network of passenger rail lines beyond existing transit districts and allow for the issuance of debt.

All of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority's swaps are underwater, the authority said yesterday.