FHWA Announces $729M to States for Post-Disaster Repairs

FHWA Provides $729M to States for Post-Disaster Repairs

I-95 repairs in Philadelphia received $22 million, the second-largest project allocation in this round.
Photo courtesy Pennsylvania DOT

The Federal Highway Administration is allocating $729.4 million to states to reimburse them for expenses incurred for highway and bridge repairs and other costs after hurricanes, floods and other disasters in recent years.

FHWA announced on Jan. 23 that the emergency relief funds will be divided among 34 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement, “These funds will help restore critical transportation connections across the country as communities continue to repair and rebuild infrastructure damaged by extreme weather.”

Florida received the largest allocation among states, with $223.2 million. That total did not include any allotments for Hurricane Ian, which hit Florida in September 2023.

California ranked second, with $124.3 million in emergency funds from FHWA.

The largest amount for a single disaster event was $37.8 million to Vermont, for repairs after severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides in July 2023.

The second-largest event to receive funding was the June 2023 tanker truck fire on Interstate-95 in Philadelphia. For that event, Pennsylvania received $22 million.

FHWA also said that the funding "will allow for resiliency improvements as damages are repaired."

Tom Ichniowski has been writing about the federal government as ENR’s Washington Bureau Chief since the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

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