With seven months to go before the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation, or FAST, Act expires, there have been glimmerings of progress on a long-term successor for that $305-billion highway-transit authorization. But lawmakers will be hard-pressed to pass a final new measure by the Sept. 30 deadline, partly because the legislative session will be shortened by the run-up to the Nov. 3 elections.
State and industry officials are pressing for a new multiyear highway-transit bill, but given the tight window, a short-term extension remains a real possibility.