Title: Highway Trust Fund Basics: A Primer on Federal Surface Transportation Spending | The Heritage Foundation
Headings: Highway Trust Fund Basics: A Primer on Federal Surface Transportation Spending
Highway Trust Fund Basics: A Primer on Federal Surface Transportation Spending
Highway Trust Fund Overview
Condition of the Nation’s Roads and Bridges
State Action on Transportation Funding
Proposed Approaches to Address the Highway Trust Fund Budget
Conclusion
Authors

Content: The Highway Trust Fund is divided into two accounts. The Highway Account is slated to disburse about 85 percent of combined spending on roadway infrastructure and other projects in 2015. The Mass Transit Account expends about 15 percent of spending and funds transit projects, such as rail, buses, and streetcars. [ 6] However, at least 25 percent of fuel tax funding is diverted to non-highway projects, which is discussed later in this paper. [ 7]
Budget Shortfalls. In fiscal year (FY) 2015, Highway Trust Fund spending is projected to reach $52 billion. The Highway Account is expected to spend $44 billion, but take in only $34 billion in revenue and interest, while the Mass Transit Account is expected to spend $8 billion compared with $5 billion in revenue, resulting in a combined deficit of $13 billion. The annual deficits are expected to grow. By 2025, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicts that the Highway Trust Fund will take in only $38 billion, but spend $60 billion [8] for a $22 billion deficit if current trends continue. If the Highway Trust Fund continues spending as projected by the CBO, it would generate a $180 billion deficit over the next decade, pushing the potential cumulative shortfall to $168 billion.