Rep. Axne Announces $30,300,000 in Grants to Repair Iowa Highways and Roads

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 -- Rep. Cynthia Axne, D-Iowa, issued the following news release:

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- Funding comes through program that Axne helped increase in 2019

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Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) announced a new $30.3 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration Emergency Relief Program (FHP) for the Iowa Department of Transportation. The money will go toward repairing damage stemming from flooding in 2019 that affected Iowa roads, including closing down major highways and roadways for months.

In May 2019, funds for FHP grants were increased by $500 million because of an amendment to federal disaster legislation added by Rep. Axne. The amendment was adopted unanimously after Rep. Axne successfully defended Iowa's need for future repairs.

"I'm glad to see this money to help complete repairs and reopen roads coming in," said Rep. Axne. "I saw the damage to our roads firsthand, and it's why I fought last year to increase FHP emergency grants by $500 million. With these resources, we give local repair efforts the time and resources they need to finish repairs and reinforce our infrastructure against future floods."

Flood damage along the Interstate 29 corridor, U.S. Highway 34, and Iowa Highway 2 have caused road closures, forcing traffic onto smaller, local roads. Levee breaches along the Missouri River last year also accelerated roadway flooding on Interstate 29. Some roads were closed intermittently throughout all of 2019.

President Trump signed the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 into law in June 2019, which included $3 billion for Midwest flooding thanks to efforts by Rep. Axne.

In December, Rep. Axne launched her Iowa Flood Funding Tracker for constituents to track updates on disaster relief funding being spent in Iowa to ensure the transparency and accountability of federal agencies.

The Tracker now includes this FHP grant as well as information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Commerce, the Small Business Administration (SBA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Tracker now accounts for $545.9 million spent in Iowa on flood recovery projects.