Congress votes on long-term fix as highway funding deadline nears

It is crunch time for highway funding in the US as the 4 December deadline for the current extension nears.

Last year, the US government approved funding through 31 May 2015, after which time spending authority expired. A long-term solution has proven elusive and funding has been kept alive through short-term patches. Many transport industry players have voiced concerns about the consequences, with American Trucking Associations (ATA) President and Chief Executive Bill Graves warning that it would "compound the crisis we’re facing with our roads and bridges.” Trucking companies have complained of delivery delays due to unaddressed issues such as congestion, maintenance problems with potholed roads and higher labour costs.