Udall, Bennet, Perlmutter Welcome Release of $110 Million from DOT for Flood Recovery Efforts

Press Release

Funds Are Part of $450 Million Senators, Congressman Secured for Road and Highway Repair

U.S. Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet and Congressman Ed Perlmutter welcomed the U.S. Department of Transportation's decision today to award the Colorado Department of Transportation $110 million to repair roads and highways damaged by the recent floods. The new infusion of flood recovery money is part of the $450 million in emergency road repair funds that Colorado's congressional delegation secured for the state as part of bipartisan legislation passed in October.

"I was proud to fight last year to quickly secure Colorado $450 million to help repair the roads, bridges and highways washed away in the September flood. These new funds, awarded today, will bring our flood-damaged communities one step closer to full recovery," Udall said. "This $110 million will ensure communities from Lyons to Colorado Springs rebuild stronger and smarter."

"When flash floods ravaged communities last fall, Coloradans quickly went to work to rebuild. This latest round of funding will help the state continue to repair washed out roads and bridges," Bennet said. "These resources will help our communities on the road to recovery so that everyone sees what we already know -- Colorado is open for business."

"In Colorado, we know what it takes to come together, work hard and recover after catastrophic disasters," Perlmutter said. "The state of Colorado made timely, efficient progress rebuilding our transportation infrastructure in record time in the wake of September's floods. Today's announcement continues our bipartisan commitment to helping Colorado rebuild from the devastating floods. I look forward to our continued efforts to help our constituents and communities recover. "

Udall, Bennet and Perlmutter have worked closely with Governor Hickenlooper, state agencies and the entire Congressional delegation to ensure that Coloradans have every resource needed to rebuild from September's floods. Udall and Bennet recently joined Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan to announce that Colorado received $62.8 million from the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. Along with leading the delegation-wide effort to successfully lift the cap on the amount of emergency transportation resources Colorado could access to rebuild damaged infrastructure, the senators and Perlmutter also led the Colorado delegation in urging the President to quickly declare an emergency when flooding began to ensure that emergency funding was available for response and recovery efforts.

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