commentThe Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) Interim Secretary Sherri LeBas recently announced that Louisiana will receive an additional $81.4 million in Federal Highway Administration Emergency Relief funding to repair damages to roads related to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike.
DOTD approached Secretary Ray LaHood of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in March for funding the revitalization of roads damaged by the past four hurricanes.
The DOT funds are allocated for use on pre-qualified state roads that have been damaged as a result of natural disasters and the state’s disaster recovery efforts, including the transportation of thousands of tons of debris.
Approximately $74.5 million is allocated to pre-qualified projects damaged by the effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Additionally, $7 million in funding was awarded for the reimbursement of recovery efforts associated with hurricanes Gustav and Ike. While this funding does not complete all of the projects, it does allow DOTD to continue its efforts without disruption.
Louisiana expects to receive additional funds next year to complete repairs to state highways across south Louisiana and to local streets in Jefferson and Orleans parishes..
Sign in to Comment
To write a comment about this story, please sign in. If this is your first time commenting on this site, you will be required to fill out a brief registration form. Your public username will be the beginning of the email address that you enter into the form (everything before the @ symbol). Other than that, none of the information that you enter will be publically displayed.