Coming on the heels of assurances by US Senator Bill Cassidy and Congressman Mike Johnson that federal action in the wake of Hurricane Laura would be swift, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) has announced that the Federal Highway Administration has already allocated $5 million to assist with the reconstruction of infrastructure damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Laura last week. But a DOTD spokesman also emphasizes that the money from Washington will cover only a small part of the total expense of rebuilding the state's roads and bridges.

In a release, DOTD Secretary Dr. Shawn Wilson said, “Southwest and central Louisiana have seen tremendous damage from Hurricane Laura. Thousands of miles of state roadways were impacted by this disastrous storm and these funds will assist in expediting the reconstruction of any roads and bridges that were damaged."

Wilson added that the funds allocated for Louisiana are coming from the Federal Highway Administration's Emergency Relief program. That federal money reimburses states for expenses incurred for infrastructure reconstruction because of a natural disasters or other emergency.
Cassidy and Johnson told KEEL listeners last week that they, along with the entire Louisiana Congressional delegation, had spoken with President Trump and other Senate and House leaders about fast tracking Federal Disaster Area designation for the hardest hit parts of the state to insure that financial help is on the way.

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