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Over $400 million in reimbursements for Helene road repairs in North Carolina is part of a $1.5 billion federal natural disaster funding announcement Wednesday May 28th.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said over $683 million in reimbursements will go to states like Tennessee, Georgia and Florida for Helene impacts.
The funding comes from the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief program.
Here is a breakdown of the funding:
- North Carolina is receiving $415 million, of which more than $400 million is for Helene damage
- Tennessee is receiving $227 million, of which more than $178 million is for Helene damage
- South Carolina is receiving $68.8 million, of which more than $50 million is for Helene damage
- Florida is receiving $44.6 million, of which more than $43 million is for Hurricanes Milton, Helene and Debby damage
- Georgia is receiving $26.4 million, including $23 million for Helene damage
As part of his first actions in his position, Duffy made an effort to visit some of western North Carolina’s hardest-hit areas.
“Within the first 100 days of the Administration, we announced repairs to North Carolina’s I-40 highway, washed out by Hurricane Helene, that are projected to save two-thirds in both cost and time—amounting to hundreds of millions of hard-earned tax dollars,” Duffy said. “We will continue to support impacted states and regions every step of the way as they make emergency repairs and get critical transportation infrastructure back up and running as quickly and safely as possible.”
The hope is to get repairs to roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure done faster, with no state left behind, he added. Overall, there are 36 states, in addition to the District of Columbia, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, that are getting funding.
“The Federal Highway Administration has been working closely with states across the country to restore vital transportation networks and provide safe travel for the public,” Federal Highway Chief Counsel Jay Payne said. “As we continue to provide disaster relief, we remain steadfast in our commitment to provide the federal resources needed until all highway transportation links are restored.”
The federal funding comes as the North Carolina House advanced another Hurricane Helene funding package on May 22 to address pressing needs in the mountains eight months after the storm caused historic flooding and destruction. The state funding package focuses on small businesses, debris removal, school repairs and private roads.
The budget is about half of Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s $891 million request to the Republican-controlled General Assembly earlier in the week. To date, the General Assembly has allocated more than $1.6 billion in recovery funds since Helene.
Details on North Carolina’s Emergency Relief Program funding from this year and previous years are available here.