State transportation agencies and construction companies can exhale now that an $8-billion boost for the ailing Highway Trust Fund is law. The new money averts a deficit predicted to hit the fund’s highway account as early as Sept. 30, but the “fix” may only keep the account in the black for about another 12 months. Beyond that, observers agree, longer-lasting changes are needed, maybe in next year’s multiyear highway and transit bill. There’s no agreement yet, however, on what those changes should be.
July 17: Bill introduced in House to shift $8 billion from general fund to trust fund’s highway account.