It’s an understatement to say it has been an unusual year for legislation with the pandemic and presidential politics; however, Congress averted a government-wide shut down by passing a stopgap spending package and sending it on to the President for signature before the October 1st deadline.  Not only did the “Continuing Resolution” (CR) contain government funding through December 11th, more importantly for the design/construction industry it also included funds for the federal highway and transit programs for a full year. The one-year extension is crucial to states and communities that need funding certainty to plan and advance critical surface transportation projects. The new law will also provide $13.6 billion to support the Highway Trust Fund which underpins both highway and transit projects.  Notwithstanding this critical spending commitment, CIRT continues urge longer-term steps to address policy and funding needs over a multi-year timeframe for highways and transit projects.