When President Obama signed the HIRE Act into law last week, he ushered in important progress on several important transportation initiatives. The Act extends current transportation law until December 31, 2010 and restores $19.5 billion in interest to the Highway Trust Fund. This works out to $14.7 billion for highways and $4.8 billion for mass [...]

Critics of public transportation say government should not subsidize a transportation option that cannot pay for itself. A new study conducted by SubsidyScope, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts, reveals that not only are roads and highways not self-sustaining, but the amount covered by gas taxes is declining.

With the House passing a $7 billion patch for the Highway Trust Fund yesterday afternoon to keep it from running out of money before September, we thought it might be useful to post a brief Q&A about the trust fund patch and how the full six-year transportation authorization bill could be affected. The $7 billion patch moves to the Senate for a vote, probably this afternoon, before reaching President Obama’s desk.

This morning on Capitol Hill, DOT Secretary Ray LaHood proposed an 18-month extension of the current SAFETEA-LU transportation authorization bill. Beyond simply extending the current bill, LaHood indicated that he wants to include some reforms in the 18-month extension — including a focus on metro areas, extensive cost-benefit analysis, and a commitment to “livable communities” — but was short on other specifics.

We said yesterday that “we need a federal transportation system that works, not the same broken thing at twice the price.” It appears that the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the administration agrees pretty strongly with that sentiment. During a hearing today in front of the transportation panel of U.S. House Appropriations Committee, LaHood made a clear, concise point on linking more funding to accountability and performance measures.

News broke yesterday that the Obama administration is telling Senators that the Highway Trust Fund — that pays for the projects approved in the transportation bill — will go broke by August if an emergency infusion of at least $7 billion isn’t approved. The system is broke, but it’s also broken. We need a federal transportation system that works, not the same broken thing at twice the price.

The Highway Trust Fund, which funds surface transportation projects nationwide, will need as much $7 billion to counter a shortfall in revenue. (Wall Street Journal) Alex Marshall stresses the importance of anticipating demand in transportation planning. (Governing) Gas prices near $3 a gallon leave some feeling stressed out. (Detroit Free Press) The Hummer brand goes [...]

The U.S. Senate approves a plan to move $8 billion dollars into the highway trust fund. (Associated Press)