Transportation infrastructure: Surface transportation funding gets another extension

Late last week, the United States Congress signed off on a seven-week extension to continue funding foe federal surface transportations until December 18.

This vote is part of a continuing resolution to continue funding for seven of 12 Fiscal 2010 spending bills which originally expired on September 30 and were extended in late September for four weeks with an October 31 expiration date.

While this continuing resolution ensures funding for surface transportation maintenance, development, and construction remains intact for roughly the next seven weeks, the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) reported that due to an $8.7 billion rescission of states' highway contract authority that took effect on September 30, this extension will be at a level that is $1.5 billion lower in contract authority than for the similar period last year.

This most recent continuing resolution represents the second extension for surface transportation funding since SAFETEA-LU-the current $286 billion, five-year spending program-Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users- expired at the end of September. And it also signals that a more long-term fix is not likely to come in the short-term, due to Congress's ongoing focus over the health care reform debate.

Earlier this year, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James L. Oberstar drafted six-year, $500 billion bill introduced as a successor to SAFETEA-LU. Oberstar's plan-with a vision for a National Transportation Strategic Plan that is international in nature and national in scope-is at a standstill due to lack of sufficient funding mechanisms.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Spokesman Jim Berard told LM that between now and the second continuing resolution deadline of December 18, a few different things may happen. One may be moving to a long-term bill and another may be coming to an agreement on another extension on an indeterminate amount of time.

Read the rest of the logisticsmgmt.com article here.