The North Dakota Department of Transportation will receive more than $50 million in federal funding to improve roads in flood-plagued areas, the state’s congressional delegation announced today.
The federal grants were awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Emergency Relief program, which funds repairs of federal-aid roads damaged by natural disasters.
In a written statement, Sens. Kent Conrad and John Hoeven and Rep. Rick Berg said three consecutive years of major flooding has left some of the state’s roadways in need of improvement, especially in the Devils Lake and James River basins.
The federal government has spent about $440 million since 1986 to shore up roads in the Devils Lake Basin, and the area will receive another $33.5 million of this new funding.
Other federal grants recently awarded to improve North Dakota roads:
- Red River Valley: $7.75 million
- West James River Basin: $6.7 million
- Sheyenne/James River Basin: $2.5 million
The delegation said officials have confirmed delivery of this funding wouldn’t be impacted by a possible federal government shutdown this weekend.
