New estimates say the Highway Trust Fund is healthier than some thought several months ago, but it's still projected to tumble into the red in four years. Federal, state and industry officials are starting to talk about bolstering the fund and other ways to pay for building roads.
Treasury Dept. estimates released Feb. 6 with President Bush's 2007 budget proposal show trust fund revenue will exceed outlays until the end of 2010, when the fund will post a $2.6-billion deficit. A U.S. Chamber of Commerce report issued last November said the balance in the fund's highway account—its major component—is projected to hit zero in 2008. That got highway interests worried. Treasury's new numbers are "very good news," says John Horsley, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials executive director. "If [the fund] had gone bust in 2008, all 2007 we would have been focused on how do we save the program, how do we sustain the guaranteed funding levels."