The federal emergency fund for road repairs currently has $218 million available—leaving a stark $3.6 billion backlog without accounting for any requests expected after Hurricane Helene reaped disaster across states.
The latest statistics, provided by the Federal Highway Administration to Bloomberg Government, reveal the heightened demand for emergency transportation money as Congress faces requests from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to pass sweeping disaster relief legislation after Hurricane Helene. The Transportation Department said in a fact sheet that it is prepared to release emergency highway funds after Helene, but its top official has warned that more will likely be needed from Congress.
Helene Raises Stakes for Spending Fight When Congress Returns
The situation across a number of states is “absolutely shocking” after the hurricane and there are reports of hundreds of roads compromised, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told Bloomberg TV this week. The administration is going to ensure the availability of federal dollars isn’t an obstacle, but the fund likely will need replenishing, he said.
“I expect the price tag will be enormous, this certainly in terms of a natural disaster outpaces anything so far mathematically that I’ve seen in terms of highway funding requests likely to come in,” Buttigieg said. “Now we do have an emergency relief fund for this purpose, it will be able to respond to the immediate needs, but I don’t see how we get the funding that’s going to be needed overall without turning to Congress.”
The calls for Congress to pass an emergency funding request, including for transportation, escalated after the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, estimated to cost about $1.7 billion to rebuild. The White House sent an emergency relief request to Congress earlier this year, asking for $3.1 billion for transportation for the Baltimore bridge and to reconstruct other highways damaged by disaster.
Biden Seeks Nearly $4 Billion for Key Bridge, Disaster Relief
The highway agency, which has called for funds before Congress, allocated about $802 million from the program to states in September. About $94 million in additional emergency funds will become available in the coming weeks from the infrastructure law, according to FHWA.
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