Congress has another two weeks to work on finishing up a highway bill, as President Obama Friday signed a bill extending federal transportation funding through Dec. 4. It was due to expire Friday night.

The House on Monday passed a bipartisan bill to extend the authorization for federal highway and transit programs – the 36th such road-funding stopgap since 2009. The Senate passed companion legislation later in the week.

The House measure was put forward by GOP leaders to provide more time for Congress to complete the conferencing process that will forge a compromise from the long-term highway bills that have separately been passed by the House and Senate.

“The House and Senate are making good progress in resolving differences between their respective multi-year surface transportation reauthorization proposals,” Rep. Shuster said in a statement when the House passed its extension. “The conference committee needs the time necessary to meet in public, complete negotiations, and produce a final measure that helps improve America’s infrastructure.”

The full conference committee is set to meet after the Congressional Thanksgiving recess to reconcile the discrepancies between the long-term House and Senate transportation bills.