The Infrastructurist blog takes on the question of when the long-term transportation bill will come up. Federal transportation funding got a much-needed reprieve last week when President Obama signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, which will ensure sufficient federal highway and transit funding for the near future.

All of which is a huge relief to just about everyone involved in the construction and transportation biz. But there’s still a large piece missing: We’re still in dire need of a long-term transportation bill that defines this administration’s goals and priorities for the future of U.S. transportation.

So what are our chances of getting one passed during this session of Congress? Not good. Not good at all.

The Senate gave final approval Wednesday morning to a bill known as the “HIRE Act” containing seven transportation provisions including an extension of authorization for federal highway and transit programs through Dec. 31 as well as providing $19.5 billion to the Highway Trust Fund. Today’s vote to concur with House amendments sends the legislation to President Barack Obama.

The House of Representatives approved an amended job-creation bill this afternoon that would extend Highway Trust Fund authorization until Dec. 31, deposit $19.5 billion of general revenue into the Highway Trust Fund, restore this fiscal year’s highway funding to $42 billion from $30 billion, and offer additional federal support for states and localities that wish to issue Build America Bonds to finance infrastructure construction.

The Bond Buyer reports that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said at a conference sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials that the Obama administration will unveil its principles for a new multi-year transportation bill within the next 90 days. He would not say if the principles will contain recommendations for a revenue source to pay for a multi-year program.

Streetsblog reports that the Senate on Wednesday took its first steps towards voting on a new long-term federal transportation bill, with environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) vowing to take up a successor to the 2005 infrastructure law before 2011 and indicating she would use the House’s already-introduced version as a framework.

PBS reports that the transportation bill — the massive legislation authorizing and funding the country’s roads and mass-transit infrastructure (from highways to bus lanes to railways to bike lanes) — expires every six years. That, however, does not mean a new bill is passed every six-years. It’s Washington, D.C., after all.

AASHTO Media Release

Statement by John Horsley, Executive Director, On Senate Approval the 30-Day Extension of Highway and Transit Programs

“We are pleased that the Senate has approved a 30-day extension of the nation’s critical highway and transit programs and that the President has moved swiftly to sign the measure into law. This action jump-starts hundreds of idled projects and puts thousands of workers back on the job at highway construction sites and several federal agencies.

“The bad news today, however, is that the uncertainty remains. This marks the fourth short-term extension of SAFETEA-LU, the highway and transit authorization act that expired on September 30, 2009. It is essential, therefore, that the House of Representatives quickly passes a separate Senate bill that would extend SAFETEA-LU through the end of this year and transfer funds to the highway trust fund to keep it solvent.

“Cash-strapped states that are struggling in this down economy can ill-afford to be subjected to continued month-by-month extensions and the risk of another shutdown. The ultimate goal is a multi-year bill, but, in the interim, we need to remember that we’re talking about real projects, real people, and real paychecks that circulate money throughout the economy. House passage of the Senate H.I.R.E bill will be the first step toward reassuring states that they can make the long-term commitments necessary to run their programs.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Senate was tied in knots Monday as it tried to get around a single lawmaker’s objection to a spending bill. Sen. Jim Bunning (R., Ky.) again blocked a $10 billion bill that would have extended unemployment benefits and other programs after halting its progress last week. And on Monday, the impact of his blockade started biting, with the expiration of benefits to 100,000 people and the suspension of 41 transportation projects across the country.

Following an emergency meeting today to discuss the impact of the current shutdown of federal highway and transit programs, state transportation officials called the action a bad situation that will only get worse. “If you do the math, we’re talking about more than $153 million a day in lost reimbursement payments for highway projects to the states,” said Larry L. “Butch” Brown, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation and president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. “Congress has to move quickly to correct this by passing legislation and getting it signed into law.”

The Journal of Commerce reports that Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, says he backed a Democratic jobs bill Monday after Majority Leader Harry Reid assured him the Senate will vote later in 2010 on a long-term surface transportation bill.

Voinovich was one of five Republicans who backed a jobs bill offered by Reid, D-Nev., which would also extend current federal transportation spending levels through the end of this year. Voinovich said that before casting his vote to help get the jobs bill past a filibuster, “Leader Reid gave me his commitment that he will bring the reauthorization of a multi-year surface transportation bill to the floor for a vote this year.”