AASHTO Journal - FTA Issues $110M in Natural Disaster Relief Funding

The Federal Transit Administration recently issued nearly $110 million in natural disaster relief funding to eight public transportation providers, including the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, in six states and one U.S. territory via the agency’s Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program.

[Above photo by Fulton County Transit]

The FTA said that funding will help those agencies pay for repairs to damaged equipment and facilities as well as recoup costs for evacuation and rescue operations following floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes that occurred in 2017 and between 2020 and 2022.

“Americans cannot stop their lives because a disaster damages their transit systems,” said FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez in a statement.

“We know it is critical to fund recovery efforts for these systems, so they can keep taking Americans to work, school, doctors’ appointments, and other important destinations,” she added.

The following public transportation providers are receiving funding from FTA:

$2.1 million to the Hillsborough Regional Transit in Hillsborough County, FL, for providing emergency services during Hurricane Ian in 2022;
$420,000 to the KYTC on behalf of the Fulton County Transit Authority to replace vehicles following a December 2021 tornado that struck Mayfield County;
$18.6 million to the Plaquemines Port Harbor & Terminal District in Louisiana to rehabilitate the Pointe à la Hache Ferry Crossing damaged by several major storms, including Tropical Storm Harvey in 2017 and Hurricane Ida in 2021;
$75 million to the New Jersey Transit Corporation to support repairs and relocation of a 70-year-old facility damaged during Hurricane Ida in 2021;
$201,160 to the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority for emergency response operating costs following the December 2022 blizzard that impacted Erie and Niagara County, New York;
Nearly $13.2 million to the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority to rehabilitate Tren Urbano rail system facilities and systems following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017;
$6,769 to the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority (Arroyo) to repair a maintenance facility damaged during Hurricane Maria in 2017; and
$400,000 to the Brazos Transit District, which provides transportation services for 21 counties in central and east Texas, to repair a maintenance facility damaged in a February 2021 winter storm.

The FTA noted this is the second round of fiscal year 2023 funds via this natural disaster relief program. In July 2023, the agency issued $102.3 million to 17 transit agencies, cities, and planning councils in eight states and territories to help recover from a series of extreme weather events.