Heavy rains and flooding from severe storms in August and September damaged roads in 17 counties across state, causing washouts of roads, culverts and mutli-use paths.
“We want to do whatever we can to help the state move forward on the repairs needed to restore vital transportation links,” says FHWA Administrator Gregory Nadeau. “Our mission is to help Wisconsinites get their lives back to normal and relieve the toll on their economy.”
FHWA’s emergency relief program provides “quick release” funds for highways and bridges damaged by catastrophic events or natural disasters to help start repair work and to help agencies make continuing damage assessments.
The program is authorized for $100 million annually through contact authority from the Highway Trust Fund’s Highway Account, but Congress can appropriate more when needed. For example, $410 million was released last December for road and bridge repair projects in 33 states.
The FAST Act continued the $100 million annual funding authorization for fiscal years 2016-2020.
