Infrastructure

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) has said there will be no do-over for a proposed transportation sales tax that was defeated in most of his state.

San Antonio's International Airport was closed because of a bomb threat.

Sacramento's International Airport has been preliminarily approved by the Transportation Secretary Administration for private-security screeners.

The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) is making changes to its normal bus and light rail service for the Democratic National Convention.

Tea Party groups in Georgia are taking credit for the defeat of an $8 billion transportation tax in Atlanta on Tuesday.

The proposal to adopt a one-cent state sales tax increase via a Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (T-SPLOST) was voted down in a closely watched election by an almost 2-to-1 margin, losing 63 to 37 percent.

Atlanta Tea Party coordinator Debbie Dooley said in a statement provided to The Hill that the vote was a victory for opponents of large government.

"We were successful because average citizens got engaged in the process," she said. "Our message of distrust of elected officials to spend our tax dollars wisely resonated with both Democrat and Republican voters. Both Democrat and Republican voters did not want to pay another tax in this economy."

An anti-toll group in Texas said Wednesday that former state Solicitor General Ted Cruz’s (R) victory in the Republican primary on Tuesday was good for taxpayers and drivers in the Lone Star State.

The San Antonio Toll Party and Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF) said Cruz’s defeated opponent, former Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R), was “pro-toll extraordinaire.”

Cruz defeated Dewhurst 54 percent to 46.

TURF President Terri Hall said the victory was “a great day for Texas taxpayers and this sends a strong message to both Austin and Washington.

“We don't want more taxes, especially to use roads we've already paid for with tax money,” Hall said in a statement. “Enough is enough!"

Your morning transportation speed-read:

A hologram named Libby has started greeting passengers at Newark's Liberty International Airport.

The National Transportation Safety Board has said that a bus company should have been shut down before it was involved in a fatal 2011 crash.

The safety board and the airplane manufacturer Boeing are both investigating a fire caused by debris falling from a 787 engine during a test flight.

Artifacts from the 2007 bridge collapse in Minneapolis that were collected by Minnesota officials are not being displayed anywhere yet.

A proposed transportation sales tax in Georgia was voted down in three-fourths of the regions across the state that held referendums on Tuesday.

Voters in Georgia cast ballots on a proposal to adopt a one-cent state sales tax increase via a Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (T-SPLOST) in an election that was closely followed by transportation observers nationally.

The ballot measure was defeated in nine of 12 multicounty regions that put forth a predetermined list of road and transit projects, according to election returns from the Georgia secretary of state's office.

Voters in Georgia who cast ballots early voted overwhelmingly against a proposed transportation sales tax in Georgia, according to a report from an Atlanta newspaper.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported that a poll of 656 early voters in the 10-county metro Atlanta region showed only 32 percent supported the proposal.

The ballot measure, which calls for a one-cent state sales tax increase via a Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (T-SPLOST), is scheduled to be decided Tuesday in an election that has been closely followed by transportation observers nationally.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

A closely watched transportation sales tax proposal in Georgia is finally coming to a vote.

Debris from a test flight of a Boeing 787 sparked a fire in South Carolina.

Dubai International Airport broke a record for airport traffic in becoming the busiest airport in the Middle East for the first half of 2012.

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) opened three new stations.

Georgia will be on the minds of transportation observers this week as the state votes on a proposed infrastructure sales tax that has attracted national attention.

Voters in 12 predetermined Georgia regions will vote Tuesday on a proposed one-cent state sales tax increase via a Transportation Special Option Sales Tax (T-SPLOST). Supporters say the levy would provide $18 billion for road and transit projects in the state.

Transportation supporters often cite a statistic that shows more than 70 percent of transportation referenda have been approved by voters since 2001, but polls have shown the tax's position in Georgia is far from peachy.

So fragile is the transportation tax’s position heading into Election Day that one of Georgia's U.S. senators took pains in the run-up to the vote to say that he did not endorse the proposal, even as he said he was going to vote for it.

"I personally plan to vote in favor of the T-SPLOST in my hometown of Moultrie because I believe it will create jobs for southwest Georgia and make a very rural part of the state more attractive for economic development," Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) said earlier this month.

But Chambliss added, “Georgians should make up their own minds and vote their conscience on the T-SPLOST referendum on July 31, based on the facts for their region."

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Friday that the Obama administration will make $17 billion available for loans to construct transportation projects.

The loans are part of an expansion of the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program in the recently approved $105 billion transportation bill. The transportation bill, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), included $1.7 billion for the TIFIA program over the next two years.

LaHood said Friday that the DOT was making $17 billion immediately, which he said would generate job growth in a stagnant U.S. economy.

"TIFIA offers flexible terms and gives many qualified, large-scale projects the extra boost they need to break ground and put people back to work," he said on a conference call with reporters. "This is a sign that in a time of fiscal austerity, we can still do big things."

Your morning transportation speed-read:

The NAACP and the Tea Party have joined forces to oppose the proposed transportation sales tax in Georgia.

An 11-year-boy who stowed away on a flight from England to Italy said it was easier to sneak on the plane than it was to do his homework.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is facing budget cuts.

Opponents of a controversial high-speed railway in California are dropping a push for a vote to block funding.