ROADS/BRIDGES: House T&I chair says new highway funding plan is in the works

On the same day when Congressional aids told a room packed full of transportation advocates to expect another funding extension when May 31 rolls around, House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chair Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) said he expects a highway plan surfacing very soon.

The panel at the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s TCC Fly-in in Washington, D.C., did not convey the same degree of optimism, with one aide revealing the last House memo outlining an action plan over the next few weeks did not even contain the word “transportation.” It was somber news to an industry facing a May 31 deadline when funding for road and bridge work is expected to stop at the federal level.

Shuster, however, was more upbeat and said a plan could be unveiled “in the coming days,” and a driving force behind a new multiyear highway bill could be tax reform.

“I believe there is bipartisan support to do some form of tax reform,” said Shuster.