Contact: Chris Gallegos, 202-224-5054

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today said he is pleased Mississippi has been granted $1.0 million in federal transportation funding to help repair infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Isaac.

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on Tuesday announced that a “quick release” emergency relief grant has been awarded to the Mississippi Department of Transportation to repair or reconstruct federal-aid highways, roadways and bridges.  The funding is based on federal and state disaster declarations following the August hurricane.

“The U.S. Transportation Department grant is one aspect of the federal response to help Mississippi recover from Hurricane Isaac.  Our state leaders will be able to apply these resources toward repairing damages that hinder public safety and traffic flow,” Cochran said.

“I am pleased with the award.  This funding is intended to allow the state to jumpstart transportation repairs as more extensive damage assessments are carried out,” he said.

The quick release emergency funds from FHWA will go toward debris removal, repairing traffic signs and signals, restoring pavements and stabilizing landslide areas.

Cochran, a member of the Senate appropriations panels that fund the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Army Corps of Engineers, toured storm-damaged areas of South Mississippi after Hurricane Isaac hit, and then stalled, over Mississippi and Louisiana.

The FHWA emergency relief grant is in addition to other resources being applied to South Mississippi through FEMA, the Small Business Administration and other public and private organizations.

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