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SAN DIEGO — Recruiting and retaining women for jobs in the trucking industry is a goal the Biden administration is pursuing, the nation’s top trucking regulator said Oct. 22.

Kodiak Robotics Inc. has started piloting autonomous freight deliveries in Texas in cooperation with Ikea Supply Chain Operations, the companies announced Oct. 18.

To alleviate bottlenecks along the country’s major supply chains, the Maritime Administration recently awarded nearly $39 million in grants to a dozen marine highway projects.

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.

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.