FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced on Monday the awarding of nearly $110 million in funding to help communities recover from recent natural disasters.
The money will go to eight public transportation providers and state departments of transportation in six states and one U.S. territory, provided by FTA’s Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program (ER). The support will help agencies repair damaged equipment and facilities and recoup costs for evacuation and rescue operations following floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes that occurred in 2017 and 2020-22.
“As the climate crisis accelerates, extreme weather is disrupting not just American lives and communities, but also the infrastructure we rely on every day,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Under President Biden, DOT is delivering much-needed funding to transit agencies to recover and rebuild after these disasters, while we continue our work to combat climate change across every mode of transportation.”
The awards announced Monday include $420,000 to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet on behalf of the Fulton County Transit Authority, to replace vehicles destroyed during the deadly December 2021 tornado outbreak that struck Western Kentucky.
This announcement reflects a second round of grants under the FY 2023 program. In July 2023, the FTA announced $102.3 million in funding to 17 transit agencies, cities, planning councils and transportation departments in eight states and territories to help recover from recent natural disasters.
The 2023 awards included nearly $3.9 million to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, to support facility repairs after damaging storms, flooding and landslides that occurred in Eastern Kentucky during the summer of 2022.
“Americans cannot stop their lives because a disaster damages their transit systems,” said FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez. “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.”
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, signed into law in December 2022, provided the funding for the ER Program’s support for the declared disasters.
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