The U.S Department of Transportation will provide more than $215 million to states across the nation to cover the costs of repairing roads and bridges damaged by a variety of natural disasters.


"Communities suffering from disasters have been hard at work restoring vital transportation links so that people can resume daily activities as soon as possible," said U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood. "They did their part, and now it's our turn to give the states the money they were promised to help pay for that work."

The Federal Highway Administration will provide a total of $215,198,775 from its emergency relief program to 34 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and federal lands agencies to reimburse them for repairs to roads and bridges caused by storms, flooding, hurricanes and other natural and catastrophic disasters.

Among states that will receive funding, California will receive $43.4 million for flooding and earthquakes, North Dakota will receive $31.5 million for flooding in the Devil's Lake region and Vermont will receive $15.4 million for flooding and damage from Tropical Storm Irene.

The money will reimburse states for fixing or replacing highways, bridges and other roadway structures. Costs associated with detours, debris removal and other immediate measures necessary to restore traffic flow in impacted areas are also eligible.