Number: RS22268
Title: Repairing and Reconstructing Disaster-Damaged Roads and Bridges: The Role of Federal-Aid Highway Assistance
Authors: Robert S. Kirk, Resources, Science and Industry Division 
Abstract: Most of the major highways and bridges damaged during the 2005 Gulf of Mexico Hurricanes as well as the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, MN, which collapsed suddenly on August 1, 2007, are part of the federal-aid highway system and are therefore eligible for assistance under the Emergency Relief Program (ER) of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Following a natural disaster or catastrophic failure (such as the I-35W bridge), ER funds are made available for both emergency repairs and restoring the federal-aid highway facility to pre-disaster conditions.
Pages: 6
Date: March 31, 2008