U.S. House and Senate negotiators have compromised on ways to speed up the approval of federally funded projects in negotiations over legislation to fund highways and mass transit into next year, a lawmaker said.

"Now it's a matter of figuring out if that's going to work," Representative James Lankford told reporters after members of the House-Senate conference committee on highways briefed House Republican leaders on their talks yesterday, four days before current highway legislation expires. "All of us made concessions."

The goal of making environmental reviews of highway and bridge projects quicker has been one of the main sticking points in talks between the House and Senate. House Republicans, including many of the 84 in their first terms, have focused on cutting the length of time it takes to complete highways and bridges built with U.S. funds, estimated at an average of 13 years, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.