Transportation industry

The Arizona Supreme Court last week upheld a lower court’s determination that not enough valid signatures were obtained on petitions seeking a statewide referendum on an increase in the sales tax to fund a proposed transportation effort.

Capital Metro hoped to begin its Leander-to-Austin commuter train service by late fall, but officials said last week that two of the planned nine train stations will not be ready until February or March 2009.

DALLAS - The Texas Department of Transportation begins its fiscal year this week with new leadership, a record $8.3 billion budget, and $1.5 billion of newly mandated bonds amid a challenging political environment.

DALLAS - The Tulsa City Council reversed its earlier approval of a 12-year, $2 billion street improvement plan and decided instead to send a five-year, $451.6 million program to the voters in November.

A 10% fare increase on the PATCO light-rail line and toll increases on Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey bridges are set to go into effect later this month as Gov. Jon Corzine last week announced that he will not overturn the authority's decision to boost fares and bridge tolls.

Massachusetts may be heading closer to a settlement agreement with Bank of America Corp., as the bank agreed to redeem $43 million of auction-rate securities owned by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership.

There will be one more big public hearing to praise or criticize plans to build a 16-mile toll highway in Orange County.

DALLAS - Galveston County, Tex., will improve roads and consolidate administrative offices into renovated facilities if voters approve a $135 million general obligation bond package in November.

Fitch Ratings this week placed its low investment-grade rating for Missouri's Lake of Ozarks Community Bridge Corp. on negative watch due to a downturn in bridge traffic this year and management's unwillingness to raise tolls.

A fight over the Federal Aviation Administration's plan to auction flight-slot leases at Newark Liberty Airport next week heated up yesterday when five airlines and a trade organization filed additional paperwork in a bid to halt the plan.

Financial woes at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority continue to dominate board meetings as officials review dipping into reserve funds to help support basic capital maintenance on the system.

DALLAS -New Mexico's $1.6 billion highway and rail transit program named for Gov. Bill Richardson will remain on track after lawmakers in a special session last week approved an extra $200 million, the former presidential candidate said.

DALLAS - Voters in Tulsa will decide in November on a 12-year, $2 billion street maintenance program after a divided City Council narrowly put the measure onto the ballot during a heated meeting Thursday night.

Add Connecticut to the list of states looking for additional resources to finance growing infrastructure demands.

DALLAS - Texas Gov. Rick Perry and top legislative leaders yesterday urged lawmakers to allow use of state retirement and other investment funds for transportation projects and demanded immediate issuance of $1.5 billion of bonds authorized last year.

A state lawmaker has introduced a bill that would allow Montana municipalities to issue revenue bonds backed by local gas taxes to fund transportation projects.

Santa Clara County voters will decide in November whether they want to pay more property taxes to rebuild their public hospital and a higher sales tax to take the Bay Area Rapid Transit system to San Jose.

DALLAS - A key player in a transportation plan in north Texas aims to keep its inaugural rail project on track with funding from the area's Regional Transportation Council.

The Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey yesterday approved toll and fare increases on its four bridges and its PATCO mass-transit system, with those hikes to take effect on Sept. 14.

WASHINGTON - Airports and toll roads face a more uncertain future than other transportation sectors, Fitch Ratings said in a special report due out today. The agency revised its outlook for both airports and toll roads to negative from stable, and suggested the sectors may be undergoing permanent transformation.