DOT 125-07
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Contact: Brian Turmail
Tel.: 202-841-9951


U.S. Department of Transportation Provides $1 Million in Immediate Emergency Relief for Flood-Damaged Oregon Roads

PORTLAND, OR – U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters today announced that the federal government is making $1 million available immediately to help cover the cost to repair flood-damaged roads in northwestern Oregon state.

“The last thing residents should have to worry about is how they’re going to pay for road repairs when their homes and hope have been washed away. We may be divided by geography, but nothing separates us in our resolve to repair, rebuild and reopen Oregon’s damaged roads,” Secretary Peters said.

The quick-release funds, which do not require a local match like most federal-aid, are a down payment on future funding which will be made available once the state has completed damage assessments and repair costs are more fully known, Secretary Peters said. Specific locations along the damaged roads targeted for the emergency funds have not yet been identified, she added.

The state can use the funding made available today to pay for clean-up and recovery work, including clearing debris and re-routing traffic, as well as for new construction to replace damaged sections of highway.

The announcement was made during a visit to Oregon state by Deputy Secretary of Transportation Thomas Barrett and Federal Highway Administrator J. Richard Capka. They visited an Oregon Department of Transportation maintenance facility to receive a briefing on road damages, meet with road crews and thank them for their efforts.

“The money that we’re providing will do more than just help remove debris and repair pavement. It will help reconnect communities and help residents resume their everyday lives,” Barrett said.