As Anthony Foxx moves into his new job as head of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, he will face tough infrastructure issues. Leading the list for Foxx—who was confirmed 100-0 by the Senate on June 27 and sworn in as DOT secretary on July 2—will be addressing the ailing Highway Trust Fund.

The trust fund is the prime financing source for major highways and an important revenue stream for transit projects. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the trust fund's highway account will drop into the red late next year. That's about the time when the current highway-transit authorization measure, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), is scheduled to expire.