NE to Receive $68 Million in Emergency Relief Funding to Repair Roads Damaged by Flooding

Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, announced Friday the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will provide Nebraska with $68 million as part of its Emergency Relief Program to repair roads damaged by flooding in March.

“My thanks to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao for granting Nebraska critical emergency relief funding,” said Fischer. “This $68 million will ensure that our state will have the funds it needs for our roads, highways, and bridges after the catastrophic flooding in March. Moreover, Nebraska will receive an additional nearly $2 million to address infrastructure damaged from June flooding and other affected areas. These resources represent a major step toward relief and recovery from this tough year we have had in Nebraska.”

The $68 million represents the amount the Nebraska Department of Transportation is able to obligate over six months as part of the FHWA’s Emergency Relief program. In addition to the $68 million, Nebraska will receive $1.72 million for flooding in June, $69,000 to repair roads on federally owned lands, and $165,000 for affected roads on Native reservations.

Gov. Ricketts, Friday, welcomed news that the U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded an $8.4 million grant to the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT). The grant comes through the Competitive Highway Bridge Program (CHBP) and will assist with the replacement of seven bridges in northeast Nebraska.

“Winning the federal grant for the bridge replacement project is another example of the Nebraska DOT innovatively finding ways to improve infrastructure in our state,” said Gov. Ricketts. “All seven bridges are key connections in our rural communities and bundling them into one project saves time and money. I applaud President Trump and Secretary Elaine Chao for their investment in rural America’s infrastructure.”

NDOT requested $11.65 million through the CHBP program in late 2018 to assist with replacement of seven bridges along three rural state highways. The grant will provide funding for the Department to combine what would normally be four separate bridge replacement projects into a single bundled construction project. NDOT plans to begin the project in 2021 and to complete the work within two years.

In April, Nebraska received $25 million in FHWA Emergency Relief “quick release” funding from the DOT to assist with infrastructure repairs following flooding. More information on that grant can be found here.

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