AASHTO Journal - Helene-Hit State DOTs Get FHWA Relief Funding

The Federal Highway Administration has issued tens of millions in Emergency Relief or ER funds to state departments of transportation in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee to cope with the damage inflicted by Hurricane Helene.

[Above photo by NCDOT]

The North Carolina Department of Transportation received $100 million in ER funding to quickly fund eligible repairs to infrastructure damaged by the storm, including stretches of I-40.

Separately, NCDOT’s Division of Aviation has been working to coordinate airborne relief operations in the western part of the state due Helene’s flooding, which wiped out numerous roads and bridges.

At one point, the Federal Aviation Administration reported a 300 percent increase in air traffic over Western NC due to those relief efforts; traffic that included private aircraft, National Guard units, and U.S. military search and rescue missions.

The NCDOT’s aviation division is also using aircraft to capture imagery, assess infrastructure, and assist with disaster relief efforts in the wake of the storm; providing critical data that may not be safely visible from the ground, according to a statement by Becca Gallas, the division’s director.

Meanwhile, the FHWA issued $32 million in ER funding to the Tennessee Department of Transportation to support emergency repair work in eight counties.

Damage includes roadway washouts, culvert loss, and a need for bridge repairs and replacements – resulting in the closure of I-40 and I-26 near the Tennessee/North Carolina state line.

The FHWA also issued $2 million in ER funds to the South Carolina Department of Transportation to help cover the cost of surface infrastructure repairs in 12 counties, including to roadways, culverts, and bridges.

The SCDOT noted in a statement that Hurricane Helene affected 16 counties overall and that it has hired contractors to perform debris clearance work in those areas, with its maintenance crews remain focused on operations and restoring roads that were damaged in the storm. In other impacted areas, SCDOT maintenance crews will handle debris removal, the agency said.

SCDOT added that contracted debris pickup in those 16 counties will begin the week of October 14; giving communities time to clean up and pile debris from their properties along the roadside.