Transportation industry

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has proposed a $200 million package of 13 road construction projects that would be financed with $100 million of energy severance tax bonds and $100 million from the state’s surplus.

DALLAS - With $5.4 billion of toll-road related projects on the drawing board, Harris County, Tex., today plans to issue $350 million of senior-lien toll road revenue bonds with maturities stretching to 40 years.

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority finance committee approved an amendment to its 2005-2009 capital program that would defer some $2.7 billion of projects. The full board will vote on the amendment tomorrow. The MTA board will also get a presentation tomorrow on the preliminary 2009 operating budget.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission tomorrow will sell $234.8 million of subordinate revenue bonds to help the agency meet its initial fiscal 2009 payment to the state's Department of Transportation.

DALLAS — Harris County gets the show on the road this week for large Texas issuers with a $350 million toll road revenue bond deal led by Goldman, Sachs & Co.

A pair of issuers from Los Angeles will have starring roles in this week's primary market, which is expected to see an estimated $7.67 billion of new-issue volume, according to Thomson Reuters, compared with a revised $6.27 billion last week.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s acting finance director has moved over to become treasurer. Vinay Dayal replaced MTA treasurer John Murphy, who retired after 35 years of service with the New York agency.

Critics of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's proposal to have the state extend its double-A credit rating to $2.2 billion of Massachusetts Turnpike Authority debt say the administration should look toward reforming MassPike and creating greater transparency before adding more debt on top of the commonwealth's $29 billion of outstanding debt.

The Honolulu city clerk said Tuesday she would not accept petitions from a campaign that is trying to place an initiative measure on the city’s November ballot to kill a planned rail transit system.

CHICAGO - Ohio is launching a new federal bond fund program under the state infrastructure bank to finance highway and transit projects, a move that comes as officials have named transportation funding a top priority for the state.

Los Angeles International Airport kept double-A ratings on its senior-lien revenue bonds from all three major credit agencies ahead of a $950 million bond sale that will more than quintuple its debt at a time when the airline industry is in a steep descent.

ATLANTA - The Atlanta Development Authority yesterday approved funding recommendations for six projects within one of the city's first tax allocation districts, the Westside TAD. The projects would be funded in part from proceeds of a new bond issue expected to total $110 million.

SAN FRANCISCO - The Bay Area Toll Authority in California plans to restructure its entire $2.4 billion portfolio of Ambac Assurance Corp.-backed variable-rate debt in the coming months, its second major debt restructuring spurred by insurer downgrades this year.

Port authorities in Georgia and South Carolina will share ownership of the Jasper Ocean Terminal site located in South Carolina under plans set for approval next week.

DALLAS — The rapidly growing South Texas town of Pharr needs to update aging infrastructure but years of financial mismanagement have led to a low investment-grade rating with a negative outlook.

Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, in its mid-year status report released Tuesday, said that much of its capital improvement program has been completed.

The New York State Thruway Authority will initiate a new procedure intended to increase participation of minority-owned firms in underwriting when it goes to market with the sale of up to $1 billion of bonds next month.

Massachusetts lawmakers are considering legislation that would allow the commonwealth to extend its financial guarantee on $2.2 billion of Massachusetts Turnpike Authority debt - a move that would allow the authority to use the state's higher credit rating yet at the same time increase its outstanding bond obligation.

CHICAGO - Cleveland is expected to issue nearly $290 million of variable-rate airport revenue bonds today in a transaction that marks the city's last major refinancing in its months-long effort to convert all of its outstanding auction-rate securities.

A DuPage County Circuit Court judge is expected to rule next week on whether Chicago can demolish about 500 properties in suburban Bensenville to clear the path for a new runway at O’Hare International Airport.