Schumer, Gillibrand Announce Nearly $90 Million in FEMA Funding for Flood-Prone Bridges in the Hudson Valley
Press Release
U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $89,553,600 in federal funding to upgrade and repair flood-prone bridges in Ulster, Delaware, Westchester and Orange counties. The funding was allocated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), and will fund the necessary improvements for bridges in high-risk flood areas. A total of 18 bridges in the Hudson Valley will receive funding to make repairs.
"This federal funding will help keep our Hudson Valley bridges in tip-top shape and ensure they are able to better withstand the next major storm," said Senator Schumer. "These bridges are vital links in the transportation system that sustain our economy, and we must do all we can to make sure they are in a state of good repair."
"This is a great investment that will help strengthen critical transportation infrastructure in the Hudson Valley," said Senator Gillibrand. "Our bridges are heavily traveled and are assets in our communities. This funding will help make our Hudson Valley bridges more resilient to keep our communities safe and take the full burden of maintaining these bridges off of local taxpayers."
"Rebuilding our nation's infrastructure is critically important across America," said Ulster County Executive Mike Hein. "I want to commend Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand for their appreciation of the seriousness of infrastructure needs in New York and thank them for the help they are providing to Ulster County specifically."
FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program provides funding under Section 404 of the Stafford Act, the federal disaster law that supplies aid to states and localities to implement long-term resiliency measures after a major disaster. The purpose of these grants is to reduce the loss of life and property due to natural disasters and to enable mitigation measures to be implemented during the immediate recovery from a disaster.
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