Congress Passes Long-Term Highway Bill Including Heller's I-11 Extension

Press Release

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, a long-term surface transportation reauthorization bill, which included U.S. Senator Dean Heller's (R-NV) Interstate 11 (I-11) extension legislation. Heller's provision extends the future highway connecting Phoenix and Las Vegas through the state to Interstate 80 (I-80) in Northern Nevada. The FAST Act, which will direct federal highway, transit, and safety policies for the next five years, will likely be signed into law by President Obama next week. Following Senate passage, Senator Heller offered this statement:

"After years of hard work, I am pleased a five-year highway and transit plan, not a short-term patch, is being sent to the President to become law. The FAST Act provides the certainty our nation needs to plan and invest in infrastructure improvements. Most importantly, this bill included my provision to extend I-11 through Northern Nevada. Without a doubt, the Nevada delegation has come together in a big way over the past year to secure this extension, and I am extremely grateful for all of their support," said Senator Dean Heller.

Background:
The future I-11 has long been a priority for Senator Heller. Senator Heller was also successful in securing six additional transportation provisions in the FAST Act. These provisions were focused on improving Nevada's travel and tourism infrastructure, making transportation safer, and implementing commonsense regulatory reform.

Senator Heller sits on three of the four Senate committees responsible for developing transportation policies: the Committee on Finance; the Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation; and the Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs Committee.

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