The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently announced it is providing the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and four U.S. federal land management agencies $29.4 million in “quick release” Emergency Relief funds as a down payment on the repair work needed as a result of multiple storms and flooding events in late December and January.
FHWA will provide Caltrans $10.2 million to be distributed to local transportation agencies to help repair federal-aid highways maintained by local agencies and will provide the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Reclamation $19.2 million to repair federal land areas in California.
As many as 40 of the 58 counties were affected by flooding, mudslides, and forced evacuations, California officials estimate. The hardest hit areas include Merced, Monterey, Sacramento, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and San Luis Obispo counties.
“The Federal Highway Administration is working closely with Caltrans and federal land management agency personnel in California as they assess the damage caused by this catastrophic wave of storms,” Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt said. “These quick release funds will help get the roads, bridges, and highways that residents and workers rely on back up and running again, and also better equipped to withstand future deluge events.”