With less than two months until they need to submit a grant application to the Federal Transit Administration, members of Mayor Karl Dean's administration and other backers of Nashville's planned bus rapid transit line have been out drumming up support. Joey Garrison writes that they also will soon have to present a plan for paying the project's $174 million price tag.

“It’s the idea of value-capture,” said Doug Tennant, vice president of URS Corp., a San Francisco-based engineering firm with a Franklin office, which MTA has contracted with on the BRT project. “If we went out there and created a new street and streetscape for West End Avenue, and created a better West End Avenue, it would enhance property values along that corridor. If you own a restaurant there, and I create a nicer environment, suddenly your property gets enhanced.”

For the third year in a row, Tennessee’s transportation system ranks as one of the best in the nation, according to CNBC 2012 study “America’s Top States for Business.” 

The report notes Tennessee ranks fourth-best in the U.S. in the category of transportation and infrastructure and is the only state topping the list that has no transportation debt.

Relatedly, economic development publication Business Facilities in its annual 2012 “State Rankings Report” has named Tennessee No. 1 in the nation for automotive manufacturing strength, also for a third consecutive year.

As to the CNBC ranking, many states carry transportation debt and must allocate a large portion of their funds to interest payments, the study notes.

“This is significant as we are the only top-ranked state without any transportation debt,” Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer said in a release. “The next state on the list without debt was ranked 19th. Tennessee is a ‘pay as you go’ state and TDOT will continue to do our part in upholding Gov. Haslam’s vision of running an effective and efficient government.”

The CNBC report scored all 50 states on 40 measures of competitiveness, including the vitality of each state’s transportation system. Tennessee also ranked well in the categories of business friendliness and cost of living. This is the sixth year the news network has performed the study.

Regarding the Business Facilities report, Tennessee earned additional top 10 honors for economic growth potential, job growth, business and education climate, transportation infrastructure, data center hubs and Race to the Top.

“Our strategic focus on the automotive sector has yielded a substantial return for Tennessee and created a magnet for growth, as Tennessee’s many strategic advantages make our state the most compelling location for business expansions and relocations in the U.S.,” Bill Hagerty, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development commissioner, said in a release.

You are now free to fly to LaGuardia. Early next year, Southwest will cut its flights from the New York area's No. 3 airport to Baltimore and add nonstop connections to Nashville International Airport.

Vision Airlines will end its service from Nashville International Airport to Myrtle Beach, S.C., on July 7, just six weeks after its launch.

The Nashville International Airport ranked as the nation’s 34th busiest in 2011, rising five spots from its 2010 position, according to statistics the Metro Nashville Airport Authority released Tuesday.

The Airport Council International-North America Traffic Report 2011 shows BNA had 9.6 million passengers last year, surpassing the passenger counts at airports in Cleveland, Memphis, Milwaukee, Oakland and Raleigh. BNA saw 6.2 percent growth from 2010 to 2011, enjoying the fourth-highest growth rate among the top 75 airports in North America.

May flight operations statistics reveal total aircraft operations at BNA rose 1.3 percent. Also that month, the airport averaged 378 daily flights, up eight flights per day compared to May 2011 numbers. In addition, BNA saw fuel sales (per gallon) drop 7.5 percent from May 2010 to May 2011. They have decreased 6.1 percent year to date.