• The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has provided an initial $29.4 million in emergency aid to the California Dept. of Transportation (Caltrans) and four federal agencies to assist with the cleanup and repair of highways and bridges in the wake of the rainstorms that battered California in December and January.
• The “quick release” funding, which U.S. DOT’s Federal Highway Administration announced on Jan. 24, includes $10.2 million for Caltrans and $19.2 million for the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Reclamation. The funds come from FHWA's Emergency Relief (ER) program.
• S. DOT Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said the newly released funds “will help California remove debris, rebuild roads, restore vital transportation corridors and strengthen its resilience in the face of future extreme weather events.”

• Efforts to mitigate climate change are prompting countries across the world to embrace dramatically different policies toward industry and trade, bringing governments into conflict.
• In recent months, the United States and Europe have proposed or introduced subsidies, tariffs and other policies aimed at speeding the green energy transition.
• Proponents of the measures say governments must move aggressively to expand sources of cleaner energy and penalize the biggest emitters of planet-warming gases if they hope to avert a global climate disaster.
• Critics argue these policies often put foreign countries and companies at a disadvantage, as governments subsidize their own industries or charge new tariffs on foreign products. The policies depart from a decades-long status quo in trade, in which the United States and Europe often joined forces through the World Trade Organization to try to knock down trade barriers and encourage countries to treat one another’s products more equally to boost global commerce.

• The cost of materials and labor for construction have increased more steeply in the UK than the EU since the Brexit referendum, new research has found.
• Analysis of data from EU member states, the central EU database, Eurostat, and the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy show that between 2015 and 2022 the cost of construction materials including cement, timber and steel increased by 60%. At the same time, the cost of labor in the UK went up by 30%.
• In the EU, where similar pressures including supply chain and COVID problems applied, the cost of materials went up 35% while labor in countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands went up by just over 14%.
• The UK Trade and Business Commission (UKTBC), an independent body of experts set up to track the impact of Brexit, said the research would deepen growing concerns over labor shortages in the UK.

RINA Group (RINA), an Italy-based inspection, certification, and engineering consultancy, has announced the acquisition of Patrick Engineering Ltd. (Patrick Engineering), an Illinois-based engineering consultancy company active in Infrastructure, Transport, and Renewable Energy. The acquisition is aligned with RINA’s strategy to grow both organically and via acquisitions to further strengthen its geographic footprint and core competencies. Patrick Engineering will be fully integrated into RINA Consulting, the subsidiary of the RINA Group operating in the engineering sector, and also positions RINA to better support international and local clients in large overseas projects.

Hydrock, a UK-based engineering design, energy and sustainability consultancy, has acquired SPLtrack, a UK-based environmental consultancy with an emphasis on new software and sensor technology. Ric Hampton, regional director and director of acoustics and air quality at Hydrock, said: “This is a fantastic addition to the acoustics and air quality division. We’re over the moon to have the opportunity to add such specialist expertise to our already high-performing team. With clients such as Silverstone and MSV circuits, we’re able to accelerate our capabilities in real-time environmental monitoring and play an important role in addressing the public health crisis and meeting new WHO guidance.”

Godspeed Capital Management LP (Godspeed Capital), a Washington D.C.-based lower middle-market Defense & Government services, solutions, and technology-focused private equity firm, announced the acquisition of Morris & Associates, Engineers, LLC (Morris & Associates), a Texas-based, family-owned engineering and architectural firm. Morris & Associates will join Stratus, Godspeed Capital’s multidisciplinary engineering, architecture, and consulting platform. “We are pleased to welcome Morris & Associates to Stratus, as the firm’s established portfolio of business and longstanding reputation supporting public and private sector clients in Texas will markedly enhance our platform’s footprint across the Southeastern United States,” said Brandon Enochs, Chief Executive Officer and President of Stratus.

Trilon Group (Trilon), a Colorado-based family of infrastructure consulting businesses, has acquired Wilson Engineers, LLC (Wilson), an Arizona-based multi-disciplined consulting engineering firm specializing in infrastructure solutions that span the water, wastewater, reclaimed water, and electrical infrastructure markets. The new alliance will provide additional capital and resources to support its strategic expansion and growth opportunities for employees. Within Trilon, Wilson will play a vital role in the Water, Municipal, and Disaster Recovery platform, driven by technology and innovation-focused project delivery, and continue to build its array of services across its existing regional footprint in the Southwest.

Ricardo plc (Ricardo), a UK-based global strategic, environmental and engineering consulting company, announced the acquisition of E3-Modelling S.A. (E3-Modelling), a Greece-based consultancy specializing in delivering advanced empirical modeling of the energy-economy-environment nexus. “Ricardo’s acquisition of E3-Modelling is fully aligned with our ambition to become a global leader in strategy and engineering consultancy for environmental and energy-transition solutions.” said, Graham Ritchie, Ricardo CEO.

Copley Equity Partners LLC (Copley), a Massachusetts-based private investment firm focused on partnering with middle-market companies with strong growth opportunities, has made an investment in Triton Environmental Consultants Ltd. (Triton), a Canada-based environmental consulting firm serving major infrastructure projects throughout Canada. Jason Harris, CEO of Triton, said, “We believe a partnership with Copley will set Triton up for continued growth across Canada and expansion into the United States, solidifying Triton’s leadership as an independent environmental consulting service provider.”