Highway Bill passed to firm up surface transport funding

Highway Bill passed to firm up surface transport funding    The House and Senate finally reached common ground and approved a final version of the new, six-year Highway Bill late last week, firming up much-anticipated spending levels on a variety of surface transportation projects.
   The House voted Thursday and the Senate followed early Friday to spend $286.4 billion on surface transportation projects. The spending level was closer to the $284 billion limit the White House had declared early this year. The initial Senate version of the bill called for $295 billion in spending.
   In addition to setting highway spending, the new bill establishes policies for creating intermodal connectors between seaports and the highway system, new freight corridors, and sets new regulations for the interchange of intermodal chassis between equipment owners and motor carriers.