Temblors continue in Puerto Rico after a 6.4 magnitude quake that struck Jan. 7, but the House is expected to pass this month a $3.4 billion aid package that includes $1.25 billion for highways and $2 billion for community development. In the interim, some residents are taking up shelter in public schools that were built before the island enacted seismic building codes.

Atlantia's motorway unit, Autostrade per l'Italia, has pledged a 40% increase in its budget amount for highway maintenance over the next four years. The $1.7 billion budget is part of an effort to pacify the Italian government in the wake of the collapse of a bridge it operated, which left 43 people dead.

Gemma Power Systems will provide engineering, procurement and construction services for a $1 billion natural gas-fired power plant in Cadiz, Ohio. Work is expected to begin this year and provide 500 to 750 construction jobs over three years.

Ethiopian Airlines plans to begin construction this year on a $5 billion airport to accommodate traffic growth. The state-owned carrier will build the new airport near the capital, Addis Ababa, which in 2018 topped Dubai as the leading transit hub for long-haul passengers into Africa.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is looking to build on a productive 2019 legislative session that included monetary commitments to infrastructure projects aimed at enhancing water quality and restoring the Everglades. The state Department of Transportation praised the governor's "strategic vision" for the state's transportation infrastructure.

Climate change and rising sea levels have intensified over the past decade, spurring a need for innovation in engineering and construction, write Debra Rubin and Jeff Rubenstone. They look at the new decade and what's in store for the industry in terms of sustainability, the infrastructure needs of growing populations and new technology.

After joining ASCE's Industry Leaders Council nine years ago, Northrop Grumman strategist Gerald Buckwalter urged the organization to explore ways to envision the "massive change" the future would bring to civil engineering and the world. The result is Future World Vision, a project that visualizes the changing industry and pushes boundaries defined by real-world conditions.

The National Electric Safety Code references ASCE standards specifying a 50-year Mean Recurrence Interval, or MRI, for overhead line structures, but structures less than 60 feet tall are exempt, writes Otto J. Lynch, a Fellow of ASCE and its Structural Engineering Institute. Lynch proposes designing all newly installed or upgraded facilities, regardless of height, for a higher MRI.

The New York City Department of Transportation will implement the Savari SmartCross Vehicle-to-Pedestrian communication system. The first real-world deployment of the system will use a mobile phone app in sync with the Savari cloud software to provide information on traffic lights to pedestrians.

Concrete will be used to reinforce the right bank of the Columbia River at Priest Rapids Dam near Ephrata, Wash. Construction is expected to begin by late February or early March.