AASHTO Journal, 2 December 2011
The Federal Highway Administration announced Monday it is providing more than $215 million to 37 states and territories to reimburse them for emergency relief expenditures related to repairing roads and bridges damaged by natural disasters such as flooding and hurricanes.”Communities suffering from disasters have been hard at work restoring vital transportation links so that people can resume daily activities as soon as possible,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. “They did their part, and now it’s our turn to give the states the money they were promised to help pay for that work.”
FHWA’s emergency relief fund repays states for the money they’ve spent fixing or replacing highways, bridges, and other roadway structures. Costs associated with detours, debris removal, and other immediate measures necessary to restore traffic flow in impacted areas are also eligible.
Funds for this round of grants came from previous appropriations, FHWA spokeswoman Nancy Singer said. Congress last month appropriated an additional $1.662 billion for emergency relief highway funding. That pot of new money has yet to be allocated, she said.
This week’s grants ranged from $132,409 for New Hampshire to $43 million for California. A table showing all allocations is available at 1.usa.gov/FHWA6511.