State highway departments are hoping infrastructure funding is included in the next coronavirus pandemic relief package from Congress. The highway departments could face $37 billion in budget shortfalls after traffic declines brought about by the pandemic.

The Philippine Department of Transportation has given the San Miguel Corp. toll road status for the proposed South Luzon Expressway Toll Road 5 and Pasig River Expressway projects. The designation allows government officials to begin proposal discussions and finalize concession agreements for the construction of the two roads.

Preparation for the latest phase of deck repairs on the eastbound passing lane of the Newport Pell Bridge is scheduled to begin Tuesday, according to the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority. Phase 3 of the project is expected to continue until the end of November.

Chinese tech giant Baidu's Apollo Computing Unit is ready for use on the streets. The ACU, said to be the first "production ready" autonomous driving computer, analyzes data from five cameras and 12 ultrasonic radars, and it will be used in a valet service by the end of this year.

Oxbotica has developed a technology for GPS signals that works within big cities where skyscrapers often disrupt them. Even without a GPS signal, the Universal Autonomy technology allows continuous localization and safe control for autonomous vehicles.

Philippine-based Metro Pacific Investments said it has enough cash on hand to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The $613.1 million sale of interest in its hospital business at the end of last year and the recent sale of 19.2% interest in the LRT-1 project for $61.1 million has left Metro Pacific Investments well funded, the company says.

Coronavirus checkpoints for visitors to New York City will be set up at bridges and tunnels to enforce the state's quarantine order, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio. The New York City Sheriff's Office will randomly stop cars to inform travelers about quarantine requirements, and visitors from one of 35 states on Gov. Andrew Cuomo's travel advisory list who break quarantine rules could be fined up to $10,000.

The Jamestown Council unanimously supported a resolution that opposes Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo's plan to merge the state's Turnpike and Bridge Authority with the Department of Transportation. The council said that under the merger plan, toll revenue from the Newport Pell Bridge would be redirected to support the upkeep of other state bridges.

Please join IBTTA in welcoming TranSystems. For more than 50 years, TranSystems has provided engineering and architectural planning, design and construction solutions to enhance the movement of goods and people across today's integrated transportation infrastructure. Visit TranSystems.

It's that time of year again...we're reaching out to all IBTTA member toll operators to validate the data in TollMiner™, IBTTA's data visualization tool. We'll save you time by collecting and entering the data, but we want to ensure its accuracy and we need your help. Please keep an eye out for an IBTTA TollMiner™ validation email, and thank you for your help in growing the TollMiner™ tool! If you've never seen the data and want a private demo, please contact Lisa Jewell or Cindy Norcross. We guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised at how it can help you and your organization.