A new transportation bill is finally close to being revealed to the public and architecture billings are up.

$325 Billion, 6-Year Highway Bill

The House is rolling out a bipartisan bill to spend up to $325 billion on transportation projects over the next 6 years as Congress scrambles to prevent an interruption in the nation’s infrastructure spending at the end of the month.

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The measure would spend $261 billion on highways, $55 billion on transit and approximately $9 billion on safety programs, but only if Congress can come up with a way to pay for the final 3 years, according to a bipartisan group of Transportation Committee aides quoted by The Hill.

The first 3 years of infrastructure spending under the measure would be guaranteed, while the remaining 3 years would be authorized pending additional funding from congressional appropriators, according to the House aides.

Architecture Billings Back Up

The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) returned to positive territory in September after a slight dip in August, and has seen growth in 6 of the 9 months of the year so far. The American Institute of Architects reported the September ABI score was 53.7, up from a mark of 49.1 in August.

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As an economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects a 9 to 12-month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending. This score reflects an increase in design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings).