The U.S. Department of Transportation is making $1 million available immediately to both Washington state and Oregon to help repair flood-damaged roads. The states can use the funding to pay for cleanup and recovery work, including clearing debris and re-routing traffic, as well as for new construction to replace damaged sections of highway.
The quick-release funds, which do not require a local match like most federal aid, are a down payment on future funding that will be made available once the states have completed damage assessments and repair costs are more fully known, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters said. Specific locations along the damaged roads targeted for the emergency funds have not been identified yet, Peters said.
The announcement was made during a visit by Deputy Secretary of Transportation Thomas Barrett and Federal Highway Administrator J. Richard Capka to survey flood damage.
