°®¶¹´«Ã½

WASHINGTON — Inflation at the wholesale level rose 8.5% in September from a year earlier, the third straight decline though costs remain at painfully high levels.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation has applied for a $161 million federal grant to replace the Interstate 95 bridges over Lake Marion.

A slow march of utility trucks headed to Sanibel Island near Fort Myers, Fla., on Oct. 11 following temporary repairs to the Sanibel Causeway, which was broken in three locations during Hurricane Ian.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge has set limits on one of the U.S. Postal Service’s cost-cutting practices that contributed to a worrisome slowdown of mail deliveries ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

To stem the tide against state closures of unsafe bridges, Louisiana will receive $270 million in federal funds to fix locally owned off-system bridges.

Trucking companies, government entities and nonprofit groups responded to the devastation wrought along Florida’s Gulf Coast by Hurricane Ian last month with relief efforts for the many areas affected by the storm, and are working to overcome challenges in getting aid to those in need.

Motor carriers transporting relief supplies to regions of Florida and South Carolina affected by Hurricane Ian are working with a variety of emergency vehicle size and weight exemptions in effect in neighboring states, moves made by governors and state agencies looking to help speed relief supplies to storm-ravaged areas.

The threat of a nationwide strike by railroad workers that could have shut down the nation’s freight trains exposed vulnerabilities in the supply chain that could have proved devastating to the economy.

Hours before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that emergency road and bridge repairs to Pine Island had been completed ahead of schedule on Oct. 5, cheers and a little laughter greeted some of the first motorists — including a Publix truck — to cross a temporary bridge built to restore access by land to the island, which took much of the brunt from Hurricane Ian.

Legislation designed to expedite emergency recovery aid recently advanced to the president’s desk amid renewed calls for enhancing infrastructure resilience.