REP. PANETTA ANNOUNCES $12.6 MILLION INVESTMENT TO REPAIR NACIMIENTO-FERGUSSON ROAD

Statement

Today, Congressman Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) announced that the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) will provide the federal funding that he requested to repair the Nacimiento-Fergusson Road. Sections of the road located in the Los Padres National Forest were damaged by mudslides and flooding during a major storm in the winter of 2021. Many of those same sections of damaged road were located near or in burn scarred areas that were created by the Dolan Fire in 2020. Soon after the damage occurred, Congressman Panetta requested that the Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads (ERFO) program designate and fund the repairs to the road. Recently, ERFO allocated $12.6 million in federal funding to repair and reconstruct the Nacimiento-Ferguson Road.

"Although Highway 1 is the most beautiful road in the nation, it is also one of the most fragile and unreliable roads due to its frequent shutdowns from slides, floods, fires, and other weather events. That's why Nacimiento-Ferguson Road is often the lifeline for many people who live along the Big Sur coast. Unfortunately, in its current condition, Nacimiento-Ferguson is unusable and needs to be immediately repaired," said Rep. Panetta. "I'm proud that I was able to secure this federal funding to fix this road, but more work needs to be done by many at all levels of government so that people, including our emergency services, can regularly rely on and use the Nacimiento-Ferguson Road."

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