Disclosed herein are methods and systems that may, among other possible benefits, help an access network to more quickly re-assign a forward traffic channel. An exemplary method involves an access network: (i) making a determination that a forward traffic channel is invalid, wherein the forward traffic channel is initially assigned to a first access terminal; and (ii) in response to the determination that the forward traffic channel is invalid: (a) after sending a first configuration message indicating that the forward traffic channel is invalid, waiting for at least a predetermined wait period before sending a second configuration message indicating that the forward traffic channel is valid; and (b) before the predetermined wait period has ended, making the forward traffic channel available for re-assignment to a second access terminal.