The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently made available $9 million in quick release Emergency Relief funds for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities to use to offset the cost of emergency repairs to roads and bridges damaged by Typhoon Merbok.
“The Federal Highway Administration is working closely with Alaska to repair the damage caused by Typhoon Merbok in Western Alaska,” Acting Federal Highway Administrator Stephanie Pollack said. “The quick release funding we are providing will help get those repairs done as soon as possible and better prepare this area for future storms and floods.”
Typhoon Merbok made landfall in Western Alaska on Sept. 15. It created hurricane-force winds, storm surges of up to 10 feet above mean high water, higher than normal tidal ranges, and wind damage. Approximately 40 cities and villages along an approximately 1,300-mile-long section of the Western and Northwestern Alaska coastline experienced severe riverine and coastal flooding.
Damage reports show several hundred feet of beach, erosion, coastal road embankment loss, and pavement loss.
The Emergency Relief program provides states, territories, tribes, and federal land management agencies funding for highways and bridges damaged by natural disasters or catastrophic events. Quick release funds are an initial installment toward restoring this essential transportation link.