Transportation industry

WASHINGTON - Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority officials on Friday made an urgent plea to the Treasury Department to prevent it from having to make a $43 million termination payment on a leaseback deal, just as the Belgian bank demanding the payment was expected to urge a federal court here not to block the payment.

After nearly three years of overseeing New Jersey's roads, bridges, and mass transit systems, Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri will head the New Jersey Schools Development Authority, a revamped agency that many hope will move away from its previous history of fiscal mismanagement.

WASHINGTON - Credit agencies are monitoring their ratings on transit agency leaseback transactions at a time when they are at growing risk of having to cough up billions of dollars as lease agreements with private investors go into default because of insurers' rating downgrades.

Atlanta on Friday closed on a private placement of $64.5 million of tax allocation district bonds for its ambitious BeltLine project, after the size of the offering was scaled back in recent weeks due to the liquidity crisis and market volatility.

WASHINGTON - Just one day after his historic win to become the nation's 44th president, Barack Obama was choosing staff, setting up a transition team, and preparing to work with the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve on the financial crisis, according to sources and public statements.

The Virginia Department of Transportation turned over control of the Dulles Toll Road to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on Monday, moving forward on a $5.2 billion Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport and $2 billion of tax-exempt bonds that will finance it.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Democratic state Sen. Dave Aronberg was reelected this week, giving him the chance to follow through with legislation aimed at curtailing the use of transportation-related public-private partnerships in Florida.

WASHINGTON - House and Senate Democratic leaders said yesterday that they will push for a second economic stimulus package when Congress returns to Washington for a lame-duck session on Nov. 17.

Despite a faltering national economy, voters by and large gave a very favorable reception to bond referendums on Tuesday's ballot.

CHICAGO - The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority expects to enter the market today with between $300 million and $400 million of fixed-rate, new-money revenue bonds to raise funds for its ongoing $6.2 billion rebuilding of the tollway system.

WASHINGTON - More than three years after its creation, the Department of Transportation's $15 billion private-activity bond program designed to help states and localities finance infrastructure through private investment - a program that DOT officials want to expand - has resulted in only one $589 million transaction.

New Jersey officials are working on a $750 million new-money New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority bond sale that includes $250 million of capital appreciation bonds.

DALLAS - Denver plans to refinance $200 million of variable-rate airport bonds today and another $93 million on Friday to rid the debt of backing by MBIA Insurance Co. When the deals close, Denver International Airport will have refinanced $1.1 billion of debt this year.

SAN FRANCISCO - Tumbling gasoline prices and an economic meltdown are creating an uphill battle for a host of California transit bond measures that looked promising just a few months ago.

New Hampshire today will sell $150 million of general obligation new-money debt that will help support highway projects and infrastructure improvements throughout the state.

New car sales — a major component of California’s sales tax base — are down substantially in the state, according to a trade group.

DALLAS - The Texas Transportation Commission yesterday approved loan guarantees allowing the North Texas Tollway Authority to build a $1.3 billion turnpike on Dallas' west side, but not everyone was happy about it.

CHICAGO - Shortly after clearing its final federal regulatory hurdle, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines formally closed on its acquisition Wednesday of Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest Airlines Corp., six months after the proposed union was first announced.

WASHINGTON - In a hearing yesterday before a U.S. district court judge here, KBC Bank NV of Belgium agreed to give the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority 10 more business days to make a $43 million termination payment on a sale-leaseback deal that has technically defaulted.

WASHINGTON - The municipal bond market and state and local governments could benefit more from the election of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama as president than his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, according to an analysis of their tax, economic recovery and other proposals, as well as interviews with market participants and economists.