U. S. Transportation Secretary Mineta Announces $97.8 Million in Emergency Relief To Repair Infrastructure Damaged by Disasters (4/5/01) | Press Releases

Briefing Room

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Office of the Secretary, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, DC 20590

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday April 5, 2001
Contact: Jim Pinkelman
Telephone: 202-366-0660
FHWA 15-01

U. S. Transportation Secretary Mineta Announces $97.8 Million in Emergency Relief To Repair Infrastructure Damaged by Disasters

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta today announced that $97.8 million in emergency relief funds will be provided to 11 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to repair federal-aid roads that have been damaged as a result of flooding, storms and other natural disasters.

Secretary Mineta today also announced that an initial allocation of $20 million in emergency relief funds will be provided to the state of Washington to repair federal-aid roads and bridges that were damaged in the Feb. 28 earthquake that struck the Seattle area and other parts of the state.

"Helping states following an emergency is an important responsibility of the federal government," Secretary Mineta said. "Restoring damaged roadways is one of the most significant ways we can help local communities to fully recover from natural disasters, and that's why we're doing what we can to help these states and territories complete the restoration process."

The $97.8 million in emergency relief funds, which are administered by the department's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), was provided in response to requests from states and other jurisdictions for help to repair federal-aid roads and bridges. FHWA division administrators in each state work closely with state and local officials to assess damage and review funding requests.

FHWA money is awarded after the President or the Governor issues a formal emergency proclamation and the state files a preliminary damage assessment for its highways and bridges on the federal-aid system. The funds reimburse the state for the damage repair work that is already completed and provides funding for the remaining damage repair work to correct major or unusual damage to federal-aid highways.

Eligible repair work includes reconstructing damaged bridges and pavement surfaces, establishing detours, removing slides and debris, and replacing signs, lighting and guardrails.

The $97.8 million will be allocated as follows:

State	Event	Additional FY 2001 Allocations
Arizona	October 2000 Storm	$ 3,000,000
Arkansas	December 2000 Ice Storm	12,000,000
Hawaii	November 2000 Flooding	32,968,000
Idaho	February 1996 Flood	457,000
Maryland	September 1999 Hurricane Floyd	52,000
Minnesota	July 1999 Storm	410,000
New Jersey	September 1999 Hurricane Floyd	9,900,000
North Dakota	April/May 1999 Flood	5,800,000
North Dakota	June 2000 Flood	842,000
Puerto Rico	September 1998 Hurricane Georges	5,300,000
Ohio	January 2001 Rockslide on Route 7	2,873,000
Oregon	October 2000 Heavy Rains	1,500,000
Virgin Islands	September 1998 Hurricane Georges	510,000
Washington	February 28, 2001 Earthquake	20,000,000
Wisconsin	May/June 2000 Storm	2,234,000
Total		$ 97,846,000

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