ForConstructionPros.com

The $8 billion bailout of the Highway Trust Fund finally received House and Senate approval the second week of September. Without the badly needed infusion from the federal government’s general funds, the Highway Trust Fund was projected to run out by the end of September. The shortfall was blamed on the soaring gas prices which forced many Americans to conserve on fuel purchases and in many cases switch to more fuel-efficient cars.

Failure to replenish the Highway Trust Fund would have resulted in stalled road projects and the lost of as many as several hundred thousand jobs, according to some industry sources.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the pending HTF’s insolvency would have forced the department to cut reimbursements to federal-aid highway projects.

So while it looks like current projects will be able to move forward, the issue of funding is far from being resolved. The HTF situation could very well be a prelude to what is expected to be a cantankerous debate during the highway bill reauthorization process. The current highway bill — the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETY-LU) — will expire on September 30, 2009.

With the presidential election less than a month away, highway funding is far from the leading issues that are being addressed by the candidates. Both McCain and Obama have promised voters everything they want to hear, but neither has outlined the specifics as to how they’ll deliver once in office — not a big surprise as campaigns go. Obama has proposed a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank, while McCain has promised to veto pork-barrel projects as their positions in support of infrastructure funding.