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Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is the “” on the fate of a surface transportation bill, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Wyden, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has tasked members with finding by the end of the month a bipartisan solution to revive the cash-strapped Highway Trust Fund. The Department of Transportation has said the fund, which relies on shrinking gas tax revenues, will go broke by August; many projects around the nation are in peril.

Failure to devise a solution could cost thousands of construction jobs and lead to devastating results for the industry nationally, including here in Oregon.

Some ideas have been floated around, including a proposal by House Republicans and opposed by Democrats that would eliminate Saturday service for the U.S. Postal Service and use the revenues to fund the Highway Trust Fund for a year.

Another proposal would bring overseas profits back to the U.S. at a lower tax rate, giving the transportation fund a one-time boost. Wyden, in a statement issued last week, said he would not use the repatriation option to divert revenues needed for tax reform.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., meanwhile, in a speech before Congress on Tuesday. Not surprisingly, the fight appears to be drawn along party lines.

At Wednesday’s “Rally for Roads” event outside the U.S. Capitol, Wyden told a group of roughly 200 construction workers and executives that he was working hard to find a bipartisan solution.

“My position on transportation comes down to this one thing,” he said in a press release. “You can’t have a big-league economy with little-league transportation – it’s just that simple.”

Wyden’s press office said he is still discussing proposals with committee members and not ready to release details of a funding plan.

Transportation leaders are wary of any temporarily solution. A short-term fix, they argue, would leave the nation in the same position shortly thereafter.

But a temporary solution could be the best hope.

It feels, strangely, like we’ve been down this road before. Unfortunately, that is how the U.S. Congress appears to work.