Over $1.1 billion in federal disaster relief grants have been allocated to North Carolina for infrastructure repairs following Hurricane Helene and other severe storms since 2020, according to an announcement from U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.). The funding, released by Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and Federal Highway Administrator Sean McMaster, will be used to restore roads, bridges, and drainage systems that have suffered extensive damage due to a range of natural disasters including flash flooding, landslides, tornadoes, and heavy rainfall.
Senator Budd expressed appreciation for the federal response: “I am grateful to Secretary Duffy and Administrator McMaster for their leadership in getting needed federal aid out the door and back to the state of North Carolina as we work to repair our damaged infrastructure as a result of Hurricane Helene and other severe storms from the past several years. President Trump’s Department of Transportation is following through on its promises and unlocking vital emergency relief to the Old North State, including aid that has been tied up dating back to the Biden administration,” said Senator Budd.
The U.S. Department of Transportation approved several grant applications under its Emergency Relief Program. The largest award is $1.15 billion for restoring damaged areas of the Federal-Aid highway system to pre-disaster conditions after Hurricane Helene. Additional grants include over $12 million for repairing public forest roads within national forests impacted by heavy rainfall, nearly $1.75 million for drainage facility repairs at W. Kerr Scott Dam affected by flooding, and $90,000 aimed at restoring bridges and roads on Tribal lands belonging to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Other grants address damages from different events: more than $346,000 will go toward fixing roads and drainage structures in national forests affected by Hurricane Debby; $150,000 is designated for repairs following a January 2024 rain storm; and about $1.68 million will support transportation system repairs within national forests after Tropical Storm Fred.
These funds are intended to help North Carolina recover from ongoing infrastructure challenges caused by repeated severe weather events over recent years.
