Congress strikes deal on 5-year transportation bill

For the first time in a decade, congressional leaders have agreed on a long-term bill to fix, maintain and expand the nation's roads, bridges, rails and mass transit.

If approved by both the House and Senate and signed by President Obama, the measure would spend more than $280 billion dollars on highways and transit over the next five years.

The House is set to vote on the bill on Thursday, and the Senate votes on Friday.

The Associated Press adds that though the bill would boost highway spending by 14.9 percent and transit spending by 18.1 percent, the measure still falls short of the six-year $400 billion plan that Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said was necessary to prevent traffic congestion from worsening. Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.