Public Works Department News
November 2026
Industry / Vendor News
About 300 transportation measures, roughly $30 billion, go before voters on Nov. 3
ARTBA's Transportation Investment Advocacy Center (TIAC) is tracking about 300 state and local transportation funding measures in 22 states on Tuesday's ballot, which together would decide roughly $30 billion in new and renewed funding. Most of the measures renew existing revenue; about 86 would create new revenue. Measures TIAC is watching include a Fresno County, California, sales tax replacement, sales tax renewals in Charleston and Richland counties in South Carolina, and an Arizona statewide question on a vehicle-miles-traveled tax. TIAC plans to publish its after-action report on the results next week. If your county or region has a measure on the ballot, have the project list, delivery schedule and reporting plan ready for the day after the vote. Passed measures come with public expectations about which projects start first. If your measure fails, TIAC's results report is a useful benchmark for what passed elsewhere and why.
FRA awards $2.3 billion in CRISI rail grants to 105 projects, including grade-crossing work
On October 19, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced that the Federal Railroad Administration is investing $2.3 billion through its Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program in 105 freight and passenger rail projects in 45 states and the District of Columbia. USDOT says the projects will improve more than 2,000 miles of track and will also receive more than $1.9 billion in non-federal funding from state, local and private partners. AASHTO reports that several awards include work at road crossings: Georgia DOT received $12.4 million for the final phase of the Heart of Georgia & Georgia Southwestern Rail Corridor project, including resurfacing 40 at-grade crossings, and the Vermont Agency of Transportation received $60.3 million for the Hoosick-Bennington-Rutland line, including upgrades to 22 at-grade crossings. Wisconsin DOT received $218 million for the Hiawatha West project, which extends Chicago–Milwaukee passenger service and rehabilitates track, bridges and crossings. If a CRISI project runs through your jurisdiction, ask the state DOT or railroad now about crossing closures, detours and resurfacing schedules so your road work and theirs can be coordinated.
OSHA signals it is still working on a federal heat-illness rule
Speaking at the National Work Zone Management Conference in Reston, Virginia, on Oct. 28, OSHA Assistant Secretary David Keeling said the agency is still working on a heat injury and illness prevention standard. "We are not done. We think there's a path forward," Keeling said. ARTBA is pressing OSHA for a performance-based standard that fits the conditions of specific industries rather than a single prescriptive rule. Don't wait for a federal rule. Review your crews' heat plan now, while it's cool enough to make changes: water, rest and shade triggers, acclimatization for new and returning workers, and how supervisors document heat-related decisions.
Earlier this month
USDOT releases more than $1.6 billion in Emergency Relief funds for disaster-damaged roads and bridges
On October 19, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced more than $1.6 billion from FHWA's Emergency Relief program to help 34 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands repair roads and bridges damaged by natural disasters and catastrophic events. The largest share, $873 million, goes to North Carolina for Hurricane Helene recovery, where the storm caused more than 9,000 damage sites and more than 1,400 road closures. Hawaii receives $81 million for the March 2026 Kona Low storms, and Texas receives $52 million for heavy-rainfall damage and bridge washouts, including on FM 1431 between Lago Vista and Marble Falls. ARTBA notes that Emergency Relief funds can restore facilities to pre-disaster condition or to current design standards, and can cover cost-justified protective features such as raising roadway grades, relocating roads out of floodplains, upsizing culverts and adding scour protection. If a declared disaster damaged federal-aid routes in your jurisdiction, confirm with your state DOT that your sites are in its Emergency Relief request, keep damage documentation and cost records current, and ask early whether culvert upsizing or grade raises can be built into the repair instead of a like-for-like replacement.
State DOTs gear up for winter with staffing surges, storm drills, living snow fences and live plow maps
AASHTO reports that state DOTs are finishing winter preparations. Ohio DOT will field nearly 3,000 drivers on 12-hour shifts, including about 500 seasonal and auxiliary drivers, across more than 43,000 lane miles; its goal is to clear primary routes within two hours and secondary routes within three hours after a storm, a target it met 99.3% of the time last winter. Missouri DOT ran a statewide winter storm drill. Iowa DOT is renewing its Standing Corn Snow Fence program, which pays farmers to leave 6 to 24 rows of corn standing along highways ($6.25 per bushel for 2026) or to place hay bales ($1 per linear foot). "Studies show that plowing snow costs 100 times more than trapping it with a snow fence, so these partnerships really pay off," said Craig Bargfrede, Iowa DOT's winter operations administrator. Kansas DOT's Plow Locations Tool on KanDrive.gov now refreshes every 60 seconds and shows images from 12 camera-equipped plows. Run a tabletop or dry-run storm drill before the first event, confirm your shift coverage and backup drivers, and look at your worst drifting spots: a standing-corn or hay-bale agreement with an adjacent landowner can cost far less than repeated plowing.
FHWA's 55% domestic-content test for manufactured products now applies to newly obligated projects
FHWA's Buy America requirements for manufactured products on federal-aid highway projects have entered their next phase. Under the January 2025 final rule, manufactured products must have final assembly in the United States, and for projects obligated on or after October 1, 2026, the cost of U.S.-made components must exceed 55% of the total cost of all components (23 CFR 635.410). FHWA's Q&A guidance explains that for these obligations, components made predominantly of iron or steel count toward the 55% calculation. Iron and steel products themselves remain under the separate, existing all-domestic requirement. For federally funded projects obligated this fiscal year, make sure specifications, bid documents and submittal requirements call for manufacturer certifications covering final assembly and the 55% component-cost test, especially for traffic signals, lighting, pumps, generators and other assembled equipment.
Senate committees introduce bipartisan permitting reform bill; AASHTO flags benefits for project delivery
In late September, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee introduced a bipartisan bill to reform federal environmental review and permitting for energy and infrastructure projects, formally titled the "Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026." According to AASHTO's analysis, the bill would strengthen federal permitting deadlines and accountability after NEPA reviews; expand the use of categorical exclusions, programmatic reviews and state-produced environmental documents; set clearer timelines for judicial challenges and better protect previously issued approvals; and streamline related approvals, including Clean Water Act permitting, Endangered Species Act consultations and historic preservation reviews. AASHTO called the bill "common-sense permitting reform," while noting that some provisions go beyond procedural streamlining and "warrant further review." If your federally funded street, bridge or drainage projects routinely stall on Clean Water Act permits, ESA consultation or Section 106 review, track this bill and ask your state DOT how expanded categorical exclusions and programmatic reviews would apply to locally sponsored projects.
Water-system cyberattacks rise; engineers urge "cyber-informed" design and three low-cost steps
ASCE reports that U.S. water systems have been targeted by more than 100 reported cyberattacks across seven states over the past few months, widely suspected to come from Iranian state actors. None of the reported attacks caused water outages or contamination, but they expose common weaknesses in operational technology such as programmable logic controllers and communication systems. Experts quoted by ASCE stress planning for recovery, including the ability to run plants manually, and note that small and mid-sized systems that rely on regional systems integrators often have security gaps. West Yost's Andrew Ohrt, P.E., recommends three low-cost steps: put cybersecurity money in next year's budget, map your system's dependencies through tabletop exercises with operations staff, and contact your local CISA representative. Ask your water and wastewater operators a simple question: if communications or a PLC went down tomorrow, could the plant run manually, and for how long?
FHWA apportions $11.2B in federal-aid highway funds for Oct. 1–Dec. 11
FHWA Notice N4510.916 apportions $11,207,297,065 in federal-aid highway formula funds for the period October 1 through December 11, 2026, under the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2026 (Pub. L. 119-103). The amount equals 72/365 of FY 2026 levels and covers NHPP, the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) Program ($2.95 billion), HSIP, Railway-Highway Crossings, CMAQ, Metropolitan Planning, the National Highway Freight Program, the Carbon Reduction Program and PROTECT formula funds. The funds are available for obligation immediately and through September 30, 2030. FHWA says supplementary tables, including STBG, Carbon Reduction and Transportation Alternatives suballocations, will follow in a separate notice. Check with your MPO or state DOT on when suballocated STBG and Transportation Alternatives amounts will post, and keep federally aided projects ready to obligate.
Closed Auction Results
Earlier this month
| Ford F-750 Cab & Chassis — City of Canal Winchester, OH | $6,000 | Sold Oct 23 |
| 2002 Bandit XP250 12-inch Chipper — Borough of Butler, NJ | $5,000 | Sold Oct 23 |
| 1998 RAMMAX Roller — Silver Spring Township, PA | $2,700 | Sold Oct 23 |
| 2012 Ford F-550 Dump Truck — Town of Nahant, MA | $2,850 | Sold Oct 21 |
| 2003 International 7400 Hook Truck — Ebensburg, PA | $23,000 | Sold Oct 19 |
| 1997 Elgin Street Sweeper — Borough of Forest Hills, PA | $2,050 | Sold Oct 16 |
| 2003 Freightliner FL70 Single-Axle Dump Truck — Williamsport Municipal Water Authority, PA | $6,650 | Sold Oct 15 |
| 1990 International Tree Chip Truck — Borough of Hasbrouck Heights Department of Public Works, NJ | $1,510 | Sold Oct 15 |
| 1995 International 4800 Dump Truck — Quincy Township, PA | $15,000 | Sold Oct 13 |
| 2015 International 7400 Dump Truck — Logan Township (Altoona), PA | $16,095 | Sold Oct 6 |
Closing Soon Auctions
Earlier this month
| 2016 Ford F-550 Dump Truck with 9' Plow — Laflin Borough, PA | Nov 4 · $20,300 |
| 1999 John Deere 672CH Grader with Balderson V-Plow — Allen Township, PA | Nov 6 · $8,750 |
Featured Project
I-270 Corridor Improvements — Adams County and Denver, Colorado (groundbreaking Oct. 19, 2026)
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) broke ground on October 19 on the $806 million I-270 Corridor Improvements project, which rebuilds the interstate between mileposts 1 and 5 in Adams County and Denver. Built in 1965, I-270 is the only interstate in Colorado that has never been upgraded, and it now carries more than 100,000 vehicles a day. The project replaces 12 bridges from the 1960s, rebuilds the Vasquez Boulevard interchange, and adds one tolled Express Lane in each direction, which will be free for HOV3+ vehicles, buses and motorcycles. It also adds an auxiliary lane between Vasquez and York, fixes ramps at I-76, York Street and Quebec Street, widens shoulders, adds emergency turnarounds, builds a pedestrian and bicycle bridge, and adds four RTD bus stops. Kiewit is the Phase 1 contractor. Early work will use overnight single-lane closures, with no daytime impacts on I-270.
What made it work
I-270 shows how agencies are handling a corridor full of 1960s bridges: bundle the bridge replacements, interchange rebuild and safety fixes into phased packages, sequence the work so daytime traffic isn't affected early on, and put community commitments such as air-quality monitoring in writing from the start. If you have a group of same-era bridges on one route, a phased corridor program may be easier to fund and deliver than replacing them one at a time.
Earlier this month
Groundbreaking
Port Richmond Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility upgrade — Staten Island, New York (groundbreaking Oct. 21, 2026)
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) broke ground on October 21 on a $185 million upgrade of the Port Richmond Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility on Staten Island's North Shore. The plant began operating in 1953 and serves about 200,000 residents across a 9,665-acre drainage area. A $165 million expansion in the 1970s quadrupled its capacity from 15 to 60 million gallons per day. The new work will modernize the plant's electrical distribution system; upgrade mechanical rooms, the control room, offices and locker rooms; and harden the facility against flooding with reinforced walls, raised windowsills and deployable flood barriers. The project is design-build and expected to finish in under four years, about 40% faster than typical delivery, building on $279 million in upgrades already under way at the plant.
What made it work
Many treatment plants built in the 1950s through 1970s face the same three problems: aging electrical gear, outdated control rooms and flood exposure. Port Richmond packages all three into one design-build contract, which shortens the schedule and limits the time the plant runs with mixed old and new systems. If your plant sits in a flood zone, consider adding deployable barriers and raised openings to your next electrical or controls upgrade rather than treating them as a separate project.
Completed
Freedom Bridge at Bradley Road — Menifee, California (completed; ribbon-cutting Oct. 13, 2026)
The City of Menifee in southern Riverside County celebrated completion of the Freedom Bridge at Bradley Road on October 13, 2026. The 365-foot bridge carries Bradley Road over Salt Creek, where flooding during rain events regularly forced the road to close and detoured traffic. The bridge opened to traffic October 1 with one lane in each direction, a center turn lane, dedicated bicycle lanes and sidewalks. The city says it provides reliable north-south connectivity during storms, keeps motorists out of moving water and helps first responders reach residents faster. Construction required relocating several utility lines while keeping services running. Funding came from Menifee's Quality of Life Measure, federal funds, Riverside County Flood Control and the state Local Transportation Climate Adaptation Program (LTCAP); city leaders credited $5 million in federal funding secured with Rep. Ken Calvert.
What made it work
A low-water crossing that closes every storm is both a safety and an emergency-response problem. Menifee closed the gap by stacking a local sales-tax measure, county flood-control dollars, a state climate-adaptation grant and a federal earmark, and it kept the project in the CIP across three councils until the funding lined up. Plan utility relocations early. They are often the schedule driver on bridge replacements.
Hiring
Earlier this month
Celebrating Retirement
Joseph M. Whalen Jr. / Town of Ballston, NY — Highway and Water Superintendent
30 years with the Town of Ballston · Highway Superintendent since 2002 · retired Oct. 28, 2026
Joe Whalen retired from the Town of Ballston in Saratoga County on October 28 after 30 years with the town. He started with Ballston in 1996 and has been Highway Superintendent since 2002. Under his leadership, the highway fund balance grew from about $29,000 to $1.1 million without a highway tax, and the town modernized its equipment and advanced a $3.6 million highway garage addition without additional highway taxation. As Water Superintendent, he oversaw growth in the water system from about 1,150 users to 4,000, the move to remote-read meters, and a 10-year capital improvement plan. He also served as deputy supervisor beginning in 2013, worked on improvements at Carpenter's Acres Park, Jenkins Park and town trails, and, as president of the Saratoga County Town Highway Superintendents Association, helped raise about $278,000. The Town Board accepted his retirement on October 13. At that meeting he received a New York State Senate citation from Sen. Jim Tedisco, "Honoring Joseph M. Whalen, Jr. upon his retirement from the Town of Ballston for the dedicated service you have provided for 30 years," and an Assembly citation from Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh.
Earlier this month
Eric Hall / City of Florence, KY — Public Services Director
27 years with the City of Florence · retiring at the end of October 2026
Eric Hall is retiring at the end of October after 27 years with the City of Florence. His career with the city began with three high-school summers working for the Water & Sewer Commission. He joined full time in 1999 and worked as a field technician, inspector, project administrator and project manager before becoming director. As Public Services Director, he leads 74 employees across eight divisions with a budget of about $30 million. His work includes the Nature Park Event Center, Kentucky's first branded interstate overpass at KY 18, a citywide water meter modernization, expanded GIS and asset management, the Parks Master Plan, and the city's Public Works Academy. "Eric Hall represents the very best of public service," said Mayor Julie M. Aubuchon. Hall said: "Serving Florence through the Public Services Department has meant so much more to me than a job."
Shana Epstein / City of Beverly Hills, CA — Director of Public Works
Beverly Hills Public Works director since 2017 · retired Oct. 9, 2026
Shana Epstein retired Oct. 9 from public service after leading the Beverly Hills Public Works Department since 2017, overseeing more than 200 employees responsible for the city's infrastructure, utilities and municipal services. Before Beverly Hills, she served as general manager of Ventura Water. City Manager Ryan Gohlich credited her leadership in keeping the city's landscape and infrastructure "world-class" and the department a leader in sustainability and conservation. Epstein's next chapter: CEO of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, starting Oct. 12.