The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced it will be posting monthly the exact balance of the Highway Trust Fund online in an effort to show both transportation stakeholders and the general public how close the HTF is to running out. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx made the announcement during a speech Wednesday at the 93rd annual Transportation Research Board meeting in Washington, D.C. (See related AASHTO Journal story here).
According to Foxx, the HTF might be out of money even before the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, 2014.
"We need to pass a surface reauthorization bill, and we need to pass one for rail, too. Because we don't have much time. On Oct. 1 of this year, the two-year MAP-21 bill is set to expire. And the Highway Trust Fund will start bouncing checks as soon as August," Foxx said. "Starting today, we're going to post on our website exactly how much money the Highway Trust Fund has left — and update that number every month until the fund runs out, or until it can sustain itself."
Foxx said that while Congress knows that number, the American public deserves to know too, as they will be the ones to see the immediate effects on their transportation infrastructure if funding is no longer available.
