Daily Transportation Update

News
State DOT News

Massachusetts Governor Appoints MBTA General Manager Phil Eng as Interim Transportation Secretary (Massachusetts Governor’s Office)

The Loop 10.17.25: Visiting OTEC 2025, one of the nation’s largest transportation conferences (Ohio DOT news video)

West Virginia DOT’s Mike Simpson on Winning at the Southeastern Equipment Operators Contest (West Virginia on the DOT podcast)

Shapiro Administration Outlines Winter Preparations, Guidance for Public Readiness, and Employment Opportunities (PennDOT news release)

Safety

National School Bus Safety Week Starts October 20 (WVDOT news release)

New Missouri Law Targets Distracted Drivers As Officials Seek To Identify Hot Spots With Data (CBS Evening News)

Funding and Finance

The Eastern Transportation Coalition Releases New Mileage-Based User Fee Report (Eastern Transportation Coalition)

Equity

New York City DOT’s ‘Open Streets’ hit legal roadblock as disability advocates say they are left out (amNY)

Research And Innovation

Catalyst – October 16, 2025 (University of Minnesota)

NOCoE Newsletter – October 16, 2025 (National Operations Center of Excellence)

Connected and Automated Vehicles

DC transportation officials clash over robotic food delivery on city sidewalks (WUSA-TV)

Highways and Streets

Rest areas offer more than just restrooms (TxDOT news release)

WSDOT Ditching Big Guns For Avalanche Control (KIRO Radio)

FY 2026 Traffic Engineering Assistance Program Awards Issued (MoDOT news release)

I-80 tunnel work continues, will reopen in November (Wyoming DOT news release)

Freight

States Targeted by USDOT Respond to Non-Domiciled CDL Freeze (Transport Topics)

Soy Transportation Coalition urges feds to cut costs in farm supply chain (Brownfield)

Infrastructure

Governor touts ‘Moving Florida Forward’ initiative, accelerating projects in Tampa Bay area (WTVT-TV)

Governor, WSDOT announce White River Bridge will reopen earlier than expected (Washington State DOT)

NCDOT, SCDOT to Hold Public Hearings for Carolina Bays Parkway Extension (NCDOT news release)

Iowa 3 bridge over the Little Sioux River in Cherokee is now open to traffic (Iowa DOT news release)

Rail

Communities to provide $650,000 in funding for Chicago-Pittsburgh passenger proposal (Trains)

US Amtrak Riders Fear Canada May Pull $36 Million Funding On Major Cross-Border Expansion (TheTravel)

CTDOT is Developing Plans to Rehabilitate an Out-of-Service Railroad Switch Tower in Stamford (Connecticut DOT news release)

Public Transportation

St. Louis-Area Metro Transit to introduce new technology across platforms (KMOV-TV)

Aviation

Hackers target PA systems with pro-Hamas messages in US, Canada (NewsNation)

Media Coalition Pushes Back on FAA’s Part 108 Rule, Citing Threats to Press Freedom (DroneLife)

Water

Grafton, Illinois gets $1.458 million IDOT grant to buy ferry, expand service (The Telegraph)

Iowa DOT Building Ports for Lansing Bridge Ferry Service to Open in Early November (KGAN-TV)

China will not charge port fees to US-owned ships that were built in Chinese shipyards (Seafood Source)

Security And Resilience

Judge blocks Trump cuts, restores $34 million in anti-terror funds for New York City transit system (AP)

Active Transportation

Texas DOT Street Teams Promote Pedestrian Safety (KIII-TV video)

Denver Metro Area Deploys Advanced E-Scooter Parking Tech (Government Technology)

NDDOT accepting applications for Transportation Alternatives program (North Dakota DOT news release)

Workforce

US Cargo and Passenger Airlines Gained 192 Jobs in August 2025 (BTS)

Georgia DOT ‘Ahead of the Curve’ podcast features Strategic Workforce Director Kelly Johnson (Georgia DOT podcast)

AASHTO News

Register for the 2025 AASHTO Council on Rail Transportation Annual Meeting; October 20-23 (AASHTO Meetings)

Register for the 2025 AASHTO Safety Summit and Peer Exchange; October 28-30 (AASHTO Meetings)

Register for the Virtual AASHTO re:source Technical Exchange; November 5-6 (AASHTO Meetings)

Register for the 2025 AASHTO Annual Meeting & Expo; November 17-20 (AASHTO Meetings)