Only a few weeks after approving over $1 billion in grants for its Bridge Investment Program, the U.S. Department of Transportation has approved another $1.5 billion for repairing roads and bridges affected by natural disasters.
This new round of funding – which includes over $683 million to repair damage from Hurricane Helene – aims to assist communities impacted by storms, wildfires, flooding and other catastrophic events, as well as support national hurricane preparedness.
The money will go toward repairing federal-aid highways and federally owned roads in 36 states as well as Washington, D.C., Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Over $1.36 billion has been committed to federal-aid highways, with the top five distributions by state as follows:
- North Carolina: $403.2 million
- Tennessee: $194.4 million
- California: $171.9 million
- Oregon: $83.2 million
- Puerto Rico: $81.1 million
Some of the bigger allocations for federal-aid highways include the following:
- North Carolina: $400 million for Hurricane Helene.
- Tennessee: $178.3 million for Hurricane Helene.
- California: $62.3 million for December 27, 2022, severe atmospheric river events.
- Puerto Rico: $51.1 million for September 18, 2022, Hurricane Fiona.
- South Carolina: $42.1 million for Hurricane Helene.
- Wyoming: $39.7 million for a June 8, 2024, landslide on Highway 22.
- Oregon: $30.7 million for September 7, 2020, statewide wildfires.
Additionally, another $168.5 million was allocated to federally owned roads, with the top five distributions by state as follows:
- Tennessee: $33.2 million
- Georgia: $25.8 million
- North Carolina: $15 million
- Arkansas: $13.7 million
- South Carolina: $10 million
Some of the bigger allocations for federally owned roads include the following:
- Tennessee: $28.8 million for April 12, 2020, heavy rains and floods at Cherokee National Forest.
- Arkansas: $13.3 million for April 27, 2022, heavy rains and flooding around Ozark-St. Francis National Forest.
- North Carolina: $10.8 million for January 9, 2024, storms and flooding at N.C. Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests and George Washington & Jefferson National Forest.
- South Carolina: $8.9 million for Hurricane Helene.
- Minnesota: $5.2 million for June 25, 2024, storms and flooding.
- West Virginia: $4.9 million for May 8, 2023, flooding in the Northern Region Monongahela National Forest.
- Alabama: $4.5 million for February 12, 2024, storms and flooding.
