WASHINGTON — Immediately after signing a bill that effectively kills the 18-month old, cross-border Mexican truck project, U.S. president Obama signified that he’s willing to bring it back in a different form.

The Obama administration will try to reinvent the Mexican truck program, which allows a select number of Mexican trucking carriers full access to American highways. Previously, all Mexican truckers were restricted to a 20-mile commercial buffer zone beyond the border.

While Obama signed a $410 billion omnibus spending bill that shuts down the current program, a spokeswoman for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said Obama plans to work with stakeholders and critics to create "a new trucking project that will meet the legitimate concerns" of Congress and U.S. commitments under NAFTA, the Associated Press reports.

The current pilot has had an uphill climb from the start. Immediately after it launched in 2007, it faced stiff opposition from safety groups, unions, and protectionist politicians.

Though Congress tried to strike down the pilot program in the 2008 appropriations, the Bush administration found a loophole in language that prohibited the "establishment" of a program, saying since the program was already established, there was no ban on continuing it. And last year, the DOT announced it would extend the program for another two years.

The program allowed access for up to 500 Mexican trucks from 100 operators, who, under the agreement had to meet heightened security and maintenance performance standards. Only about 103 trucks ever took part, however.

The Mexican government has threatened retaliatory steps if the U.S. upholds the ban on Mexican trucks, arguing the move is a violation of NAFTA.