In a rare bi-partisan effort, Congress passed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (“FAST Act”), which was signed into law by President Obama on December 4. The law makes changes and reforms to many Federal transportation programs, including streamlining the approval processes for new transportation projects.

The President of the American Public Works Association, Brian Usher, applauded the new law saying “This bill provides the streamlined project approval processes that state and local governments need to provide Americans with the transportation systems necessary for economic prosperity.”

For an excellent overview of the new law please see this article from my colleagues.