CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The U.S. Department of Transportation has made emergency relief funds available this week to help repair roads in western North Carolina and other areas hit hard by Helene in late September.
$43.1 million is now available for essential repairs to roadways in the national forests and parks in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. $5.1 million will go to repairs in the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests in North Carolina while another $25 million is dedicated to the National Park Service for repairs to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
South Carolina will get $1.25 million for repairs in the Francis Marion and Sumter national forests.
“The damage caused by Hurricane Helene’s heavy rains, strong winds, and flooding is so extensive that emergency vehicles and utility crews cannot make their way into the national forests and national parks to make essential repairs,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The emergency funding we’re sending will help the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service make repairs to vital transportation networks in four impacted states where roads are currently impassable and reopen these roadways as quickly as possible."
The emergency relief funds come from the agency's Federal Highway Administration. The quick-release funds are an initial installment of funds dedicated to restoring essential transportation links to states, territories, tribes and federal land management agencies for highways and bridges damaged by natural disasters or catastrophic events.
“The Federal Highway Administration is working closely with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service to ensure the roads and bridges in our nation’s parks and forests are quickly rebuilt and repaired so that Americans can make use of these natural resources and communities can benefit from the economic development these amenities provide,” said Acting Federal Highway Administrator Kristin White.
Additional funds, estimated to be more than $1 billion, will be supported by the agency's Emergency Relief program through nationwide funding allocations.