A nearly $30 million "down payment" is being made immediately available for repairs to California roads and highways damaged in recent storms and flooding, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced this week.
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and four federal land management agencies will receive $29.4 million in “quick release” Emergency Relief (ER) funds, the DOT announced Jan. 24, "as a down payment on the repair work needed as a result of multiple storms and flooding events that damaged roads, bridges and highways in late December and January."
“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,” FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt said in the announcement. “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.”
Caltrans' initial estimates found as many as 40 of the state's 58 counties sustained storm damage, including "the flooding of rivers and roadways, hundreds of mudslides, and forced evacuations," the announcement states, with "significant damage" occurring in Merced, Monterey, Sacramento, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and San Luis Obispo counties, among other locations, and "assessments are ongoing."
The FHWA's emergency funding announcement came 10 days after President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for California on Jan. 14. The declaration allowed the release of federal funding to supplement state and local storm-recovery efforts.
In addition to aid to state and local agencies, "(a)ssistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster," according to the White House announcement.
Pres. Biden approved the declaration one week after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) submitted a request to the administration for a Presidential Emergency Declaration, Newsom's office announced Jan. 8. The governor had declared a state of emergency on Jan. 4, which included mobilization of the California National Guard to support disaster response.
At least 20 people died in the series of devastating storms, called "atmospheric rivers," that pummeled California from Dec. 27 to Jan. 16, the Washington Post reports. Nearly 48 inches of rain fell in some areas during that time, according to the report, equating to 32 trillion gallons of water. The costs of the storms is estimated to be more than $1 billion, according to the Washington Post report.
"These extreme storms have disrupted millions of lives and livelihoods, with serious damage to key infrastructure that Californians count on," Buttigieg said in the DOT announcement. "The emergency funding we are announcing today will help California remove debris, rebuild roads, restore vital transportation corridors and strengthen its resilience in the face of future extreme weather events."
