Congress bought infrastructure contractors more time, but it didn’t buy them much certainty. Lawmakers extended federal surface transportation programs under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act through Dec. 11, averting a Sept. 30 expiration that had many construction firms on edge. The Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, signed by President Donald Trump on Sept. 2, enacted the short-term extension. The funds are key for the construction industry, especially since infrastructure work remains one of the few reliable sources of construction activity outside data center projects. But the roughly 10-week reprieve falls well short of the multiyear funding certainty contractors hoped for, according to construction trade associations. Some state transportation departments had already begun scaling back on bid openings earlier this summer, said Alex Etchen, vice president of construction advocacy and risk management at the Associated General Contractors of America.
Infrastructure contractors dodged a funding cliff, but another looms
