The U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced on Monday the immediate availability of $3 million in emergency relief funds for the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) in order to repair roads and bridges damaged by recent floods.
“The emergency funding we’re announcing today will help the people of Idaho recover from these devastating floods and safely reopen their roads and bridges as quickly as possible,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Flooding occurred on June 10, creating dangerous travel conditions in the North region, and flooding in NezPerce and Idaho counties created significant damage to the structures. Idaho Governor Brad Little issued a disaster declaration on June 22 to assist with response and repair efforts.
“Today’s funding represents a down payment on our federal commitment to ensuring roads and bridges in Idaho damaged by the flooding are repaired as quickly as possible,” said Deputy Federal Highway Administrator Stephanie Pollack. “The flooding has interrupted daily life in communities in the region, and we hope that by restoring vital transportation links people can regain a sense of normalcy.”
Initial flooding closed the northbound lane of US-95 four miles south of Lapwai. Crews worked diligently to reopen two lanes with an asphalt surface as soon as possible and committed to start refocusing on more permanent repairs later this summer.
The emergency relief funds will go toward emergency repair work, and operations to maintain traffic flow throughout the disaster. Damaged roads include US-95, Gifford-Reubens Road, Southwick Road and Webb Road in Nez Perce County as well as Toll/Clear Creek Road in Idaho County.
FHWA’s emergency relief program provides funding for highways and bridges damaged by natural disasters or catastrophic events. These funds are an initial installment of funds used to restore essential traffic and to limit further highway damage, which can help long-term repair work begin more quickly.
The funding announced today adds to the more than $70 million recently provided to the Montana Department of Transportation, the Wyoming Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Interior’s National Park Service for Yellowstone National Park and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service for Custer Gallatin National Forest to repair flood damage.
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Source: USDOT
