The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced Monday it would immediately make available $3 million in “quick release” Emergency Relief (ER) funds for Idaho roads and bridges damaged by floods.
The money will be provided to the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) to repair roads and bridges damaged due to extreme moisture, runoff and flooding that occurred beginning on June 10 in Nez Perce and Idaho counties, as well as the North Central and northeast regions of the state.
“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,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
During the extreme rains in June, numerous roadways in the area were obstructed and many roads and bridges suffered significant damage. Idaho Gov. Brad Little issued a disaster declaration on June 22 to help with 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.”
Initially, the flooding caused the northbound lane of US-95 south of Lapwai to close. Crews worked to reopen the lanes with an asphalt surface as soon as possible and committed to refocusing on permanent repairs this summer.
The FHWA said the “quick release” funds would go toward emergency repair work and operations on roads including US-95, Gifford Reubens Road, Southwick Roads and Webb Road in Nez Perce County, as well as Toll/Clear Creek Road in Idaho County. The work helped maintain traffic flow throughout the disaster, the US DOT said.
The ER program provides funding for highways and bridges damaged by natural disasters or catastrophic events. The funds are part of an investment to restore essential traffic flow and to limit further highway damage that will help long-term repair work to begin quicker.
More than $70 million in FHWA funds to repair flood damage has been provided to state departments of transportation in Montana and Wyoming, as well as to the U.S. Department of Interior’s National Park Service of Yellowstone National Park and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service for Custer Gallatin National Forest.