The Senate approved an $8.1 billion extension of federal funding for transportation projects through the end of 2014, setting up a clash with the House of Representatives just days ahead of cutbacks in money for road, bridge and transit construction, according to The Associated Press.

The Democratic-controlled Senate had been considering a House-passed measure for a longer-term extension through May 2015, but reduced the amount of money with the aim of forcing Congress to approve a long-term transport funding bill during its post-election "lame duck" session in November, the AP reported.

The final bill, which also stripped the main funding mechanism in the House-passed measure, revenue from pension accounting changes, passed by a strong bipartisan vote of 79-18, according to the AP.

"Let's force the Congress this year - before the end of this year - to deal with an issue that's very important to our nation," said Senator Bob Corker, a Republican who co-sponsored an amendment to reduce the funding amount, the AP reported.

The vote raises the stakes for Congress as a twin deadline looms on Friday for a reduction in payments to states from the Highway Trust Fund and the start of a five-week summer recess for lawmakers, according to the AP.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner said earlier Tuesday that the House would simply strip any changes made by the Senate to the transportation funding bill and send back the original House version to the Senate for approval, the AP reported.

The Department of Transportation has said it will begin to curtail payments from the fund to states by as much as 30 percent starting that day, a move lawmakers and state transportation directors say could halt planning work for major projects and lead to the layoffs of hundreds of thousands of construction workers, according to the AP.