The Federal Highway Administration has released $574 million in emergency funds to help 39 states and Puerto Rico—as well as tribal governments and some other federal agencies—repair roads and bridges in the wakes of major storms and other natural disasters.
The funding, which FHWA announced on Sept. 29, covers disasters dating as far back as the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, and as recent as a bush fire in Arizona in June 20. The federal funds reimburse states and other agencies.
California received the largest share of the emergency relief funds, with $64.5 million, mostly for damages from fires.
North Dakota ranked second, with $46.2 million, for floods in fall 2019 and in February and March 2020. Nebraska was third, with $46 million for early 2019 flooding.
They were followed by North Carolina, which received $37.5 million, and New York, with $35.8 million.
Funds can go for costs of reconstructing or replacing bridges or highways damaged by disasters as well as the expenses of replacing guardrails or other equipment and instituting detours.
Among the federal agencies receiving reimbursements are the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service.