NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) May 5, 2009--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'AA+' long-term rating, and stable outlook, to the Arizona Transportation Board's $440 million transportation excise tax revenue bonds (Maricopa County Regional Area Road Fund) series 2009. At the same time, we affirmed our 'AA+' long-term rating, with a stable outlook, on the Regional Area Road Fund parity series 2007 bonds outstanding. The bonds are secured by a sales tax collected within Maricopa County and dedicated for road improvement purposes. The rating reflects what we consider a very large and diverse economic base covering Maricopa County ('AAA' issuer credit rating), which generates the pledged sales tax; and high 3.54x coverage by fiscal 2008 pledged revenues of future
