WASHINGTON — It’s taken years, but the U.S. economy may finally be reaching a sustainable cruising speed.

Many economists predict that overall growth, as measured by the gross domestic product, reached a healthy 3 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter, according to a survey by data firm FactSet.

The Commerce Department will release its first estimate of GDP growth in the third quarter today.

If the expectations prove accurate, it would be the fourth quarter in the past five in which the economy has reached at least a 3 percent growth rate.

For the April-June period, growth reached a sizzling 4.6 percent rate. But that marked a sharp bounce back from the first quarter, when the economy shrank at an annual rate of 2.1 percent. The stumble reflected largely a harsh winter that closed shopping malls and disrupted much economic activity.

After the roller-coaster first- and second-quarter gyrations, most analysts think the economy is poised to achieve consistently stronger growth for the rest of this year and all of 2015.

Many think full-year growth for 2015 will hit 3 percent, giving the economy the best annual performance since 2005.