WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today announced the immediate release of $10 million in Emergency Relief funding for the Virginia Department of Transportation. These funds are a quickly released ‘down payment’ to help in the immediate aftermath to support emergency repair work stemming from Hurricane Helene.
“Hurricane Helene’s devastation affected communities in multiple states, including Virginia, and the Biden-Harris Administration is here to support all of them as they recover and rebuild,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The Department is deploying this initial $10 million for Virginia to help restore key transportation networks and routes, and we will continue our support for impacted states and communities for as long as it takes to fully recover.”
“This funding represents the first step in our commitment to help Virginia restore roads, bridges, and critical transportation infrastructure that were damaged by Hurricane Helene,” said Acting Federal Highway Administrator Kristin White. “We stand with Virginians whose livelihoods and businesses have been impacted by the destruction of the storm, including the washout on Route 58. FHWA is working with our state partners on the ground to repair roads and do the work to reconnect Virginia.”
As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s robust response to Hurricane Helene, USDOT continues to support the response and recovery efforts in impacted communities. Secretary Buttigieg has received regular briefings from USDOT operating administrations and has communicated with the governors of the impacted states, and he and other DOT officials have been to regions affected by Helene’s damage.
Hurricane Helene caused damages to roads and bridges in southwestern Virginia, including road washouts. In particular, one mile of Route 58 near Damascus is closed to traffic due to the damage to the roadway where it no longer exists. A 30-mile detour is in place until the road is re-opened, which affects residents and travel within the state.
Virginia DOT will use the emergency relief funds provided through “quick release” to restore and reopen the one-mile section of Route 58 that is currently washed out and on other sections of the route that require repair.
The FHWA’s Emergency Relief program provides funding to states, territories, tribes, and Federal Land Management Agencies for highways and bridges damaged by natural disasters or catastrophic events. These Emergency Relief funds, provided through the “quick release” process, are an initial installment of funds toward restoring this essential transportation link. Additional funds needed to repair damage in Virginia will be supported by the Emergency Relief program through nationwide funding allocations.
The FHWA Emergency Relief program complements Bipartisan Infrastructure Law programs and provisions by encouraging agencies to identify and implement measures to incorporate resilience in the design, restoration, and repair of damaged infrastructure, to better withstand future damage from climate change and future weather events.
Virginia requested and the FHWA approved the “quick release” amount. This follows “quick release” funding provided to North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina for Hurricane Helene damage.
More information about the FHWA’s Emergency Relief program can be found online at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/erelief.cfm.
