AASHTO Journal, 09 October 2015
The Federal Highway Administration tapped its quick-release account to send South Carolina $5 million in emergency relief as the state copes this month with heavy flood damage to roads and bridges, and sent $1 million to Missouri for costs related to widespread spring and summer flooding.
The money going to the South Carolina Department of Transportation will help repair roads and bridges damaged after torrential rains that began Oct. 2 left record-breaking floods in the wake of Hurricane Joaquin.
“The damage is of historic proportion and the state is hurting,” said Federal Highway Administrator Greg Nadeau. “We know that the losses are great throughout the state, but getting roads and bridges back up and running again is the first step to restoring communities again.”
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the $5 million “is only a down payment on our commitment to ensuring all highways and bridges are repaired in the state. More resources will become available as estimates for the cost of repairs become clear.”
The Oct. 6 release of FHWA funds, from an account designed to help states cover immediate costs of restoring roads after disasters, came even as many South Carolina roads and bridges remained closed days after the floods struck.
Separately, the FHWA announced Oct. 2 it was providing $1 million to the Missouri Department of Transportation to assist the state with costs from storms that eventually left 76 counties under disaster declarations.
State officials said the flood damages in recent months were the worst since the historic flood of 1993.
Missouri had to close hundreds of roadway sections, the FHWA said, and many bridges throughout the state were damaged from landslides, erosion and scouring. Missouri continues to tally the costs of bridge repairs but estimates damages will top $6.5 million.
“We know how difficult it is to carry out a daily routine when travel links are broken,” said Nadeau. “Restoring these critical connections is important to the community.”