Recent Press Releases

Washington, D.C. —  Senator John Thune today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation will reimburse state and local governments in South Dakota for money spent on roads and bridges following the Spring 2001 flood.

The grants, worth $282,000, will be disbursed by the Federal Highway Administration nearly four years after the devastating floods.

“Following the flooding of 2001, our state and local governments had to make extensive repairs to our highway system,” said Thune. “Our state’s taxpayers are finally being reimbursed after bearing the financial burden of those repairs for four years.”

The Emergency Relief (ER) program within the U.S. Department of Transportation provides funds for the repair or reconstruction of Federal-aid highways and roads on Federal lands that have incurred serious damage due to natural disasters. These funds are released in response to state requests for assistance.

During and after the Spring 2001 flood in South Dakota, ER program requests exceeded the program’s authorized limits, creating a backlog. South Dakota’s state government, as well as local governments, will now receive reimbursement for the costs of repairs to Federal-aid highways that were damaged by flooding in the Spring of 2001.