COVID-19 Creating Winter Challenges For State DOTs
Several state departments of transportation are facing winter operation challenges created by COVID-19 as the pandemic is leading to budget tightening as well as greater health and safety needs among their snowplow driver corps. [Above photo via the Michigan DOT.] “Over the years, maintenance workers at the state and local levels have handled everything winter could throw at them but, with the continuing threat of COVID-19, this is going to be an unprecedented winter,” explained Paul Ajegb...
U.S. Power Industry Faces Transition Following Energy Demand Losses
Facing a long recovery from COVID-19 impacts, energy sector expected to accelerate integration of renewables DENVER (October 27, 2020)—The COVID-19 pandemic has had extreme consequences for the U.S. power industry, including a substantial reduction in energy demand and intensified supply-side competition. Combined with the demand losses recorded in 2019, the industry will have shed the equivalent of a decade of growth. And while the industry might turn a corner in 2021, a contraction next year...
CDC Says Public Transit Passengers, Operators Should Wear Masks
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a “strong recommendation” for public transportation passengers and transit operators alike to wear masks in order to prevent spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. [Above photo by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.] The agency said passengers on “public conveyances” – such as airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis, ride-shares – should follow its mask-wearing recommendation, as well as the operators...
Woolpert, Smartronix Tracking COVID-19 Relief Funding for the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
A team of geospatial experts are building datasets and a mapping application to provide information management and transparency in support of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee and its public website. WASHINGTON, D.C. — Woolpert has been contracted by Smartronix to provide geospatial datasets and a mapping application to track Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and other federal COVID-19 emergency relief funding for the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrit...
Indiana Toll Road Provides Broadband Connectivity to Northwest Indiana Schools to Enable COVID-19 Related Virtual Learning for 7,000 Students
ELKHART, Ind., October 22, 2020 - ITR Concession Company (ITRCC), the operator of the Indiana Toll Road, has entered into an agreement with Surf Broadband, LLC, a premier broadband provider in northwest Indiana, to enable virtual learning for more than 7,000 Portage Township Schools (PTS) students. As part of the arrangement, ITRCC granted Surf Broadband free access to the Toll Road’s private fiber network in August as an interim solution to support PTS’s immediate virtual learning needs during...
More U.S. Engineering Firms See Improved Finances Since COVID, But Uncertainty Grows for Future Markets, New ACEC Business Impact Survey Show
Washington, D.C. – Despite the challenging economy, an increasing majority of U.S. engineering firm leaders (68%) say their firm’s finances have improved or at least remained the same since COVID-19 paralyzed the marketplace in March—a significant increase over the 58% who affirmed the same in May, according to the latest ACEC Research Institute Business Impact Survey. “Six months into the pandemic and uncertainty is still the watchword for the engineering industry,” said ACEC Research Insti...
UC Davis: COVID-19 Having Major Impact On Transportation
New research by the University of California-Davis Institute for Transportation Studies indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has had and will continue to have a “profound impact” on how much people move around, their means of transportation, and on who gets to stay at home; trends that will create “long-term shifts” in transportation usage across the country. And the UC Davis experts say policymakers need to start addressing these changes before new habits are set. “The pandemic has completel...
Help students stay in school during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond
CHICAGO - The financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic have made it much harder for students to realize their dreams. Learning resource provider OneClass surveyed more than 10,000 students this spring and found some disturbing trends: 56% of respondents said they can no longer afford tuition. 49% of respondents said they have to find new financing. 7% said they are switching gears, leaving school to try something else. “Student need was high before the pandemic and is now d...
Capstone Headwaters Reports: COVID-19 Accelerates Digital Adoption in Water Infrastructure Industry
Boston, MA– Capstone Headwaters released its Water Infrastructure update today, reporting that pre-COVID trends of rapid urbanization and aging water and wastewater infrastructure have been catalysts for innovation and advancement in the Water Infrastructure industry. While COVID-19 has stressed revenues and financial visibility, it has also accelerated the adoption of digital and remote technologies to drive effective asset management, efficiency, and cost reduction in water systems. “Wh...
H2OBiome Wastewater COVID-19 Testing Service Launches Across the United States
ROCKVILLE, Md.- CosmosID announces the official launch of H2Obiome, a testing service for water and wastewater testing for pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2. The first offering is detection of virus in wastewater treatment plants, providing early warning of community COVID-19 outbreaks. Studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 virus is detectible in sewage approximately one to two weeks before a COVID-19 case is recorded by the health department. CosmosID is working with Maryland Department of Enviro...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail Expansion
February Issue 2026
