Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
MAP-21

We’re Still Living in the SAFETEA-LU Era For Three More Months

1:58 PM EDT on July 10, 2012

Something that escaped my attention until recently is the fact that MAP-21 is really only a 24-month transportation bill. Folded into the bill is an extension of SAFETEA-LU for another three months, until September 30 -- the end of this fiscal year.

The bill was signed into law last Friday and it expires September 30, 2014, so when people call it a 27-month bill, technically that's true, although most of the changes to policy and funding levels won't take effect until the next fiscal year. "That doesn’t mean the impacts and implications of pending policy changes can’t be considered and prepared for immediately," said one Capitol Hill aide.

And it doesn't mean those changes won't outlive those 24 months. Authorization for specific programs only lasts 24 months, but the policy changes become baseline transportation law on a permanent basis. If a new law doesn't explicitly change these provisions, they stay as they are in this bill. Besides, who really thinks the next transportation bill is going to be passed before this one expires without requiring a string of extensions? MAP-21 could be with us for a while.

Another aide commented that three months' lead time is necessary to allow U.S. DOT to put out new regulations and prepare for the changes.

So in case you were counting: If you add up all the extensions of SAFETEA-LU, including the one-week extension to get MAP-21 enrolled on parchment for the president to sign, and then the three-month extension included within MAP-21, that's 11 extensions. No wonder it ran out Transportation for America's countdown clock.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Wednesday’s Headlines at a Discount

We talk a lot about how parking minimums drive up housing costs, but so do overly wide roads. Why not take away a lane or two and let people build on the land?

October 4, 2023

Watch 15 Years of Street Transformation in a Single Streetfilm

It's hard to see the big picture of just what has been accomplished between Times and Union squares. That's where Clarence Eckerson Jr. comes in.

October 4, 2023

Study: Remote Work Isn’t Always A Cure for America’s Driving Addiction

A lot of Americans traded long commutes for short errands during the pandemic — but whether that swap resulted in more or less driving is a consequence of policy choices.

October 4, 2023

Tuesday’s Headlines Are Trending Down

An estimated 19,515 people died in car crashes during the first half of 2023, which is down 3.3 percent but still 19,515 too many.

October 3, 2023
See all posts