CONSTRUCTION

Highway Contracts Reinstated: A Sacramento judge ordered the California Department of Transportation to reinstate for at least 22 days all contracts that it had canceled two months ago with private highway design and engineering firms. The order means that about $40 million worth of highway design, engineering and surveying work will be returned immediately, said Jim Drago, a Caltrans spokesman. An Aug. 27 hearing was set to determine whether a more lasting injunction should be issued. Caltrans has been in a quagmire for several years as it battled with its staff over how much work it could turn over to outside consultants.