West Virginia’s senators announced this week more than $4.4 million in federal funding to fix flood damaged roads, and almost half of the money was allocated to Ohio and Hancock counties.
Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., chairwoman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced Wednesday that $2.1 million had been granted to the two counties. The state received the money through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Public Assistance grant program.
The funds would go to assist the Division of Highways with roads damaged as a result of storms in February.
District 6 Engineer David Brabham said the DOH would be using the money received — $1,119,201 for Ohio County and $1,015,145 for Hancock County — to fix embankment failures that occurred as a result of the storms.
“Everything we got money for was for embankment failures,” Brabham said Thursday. “We’ll be doing slip repairs, fixing walls. … We’ve started on some of them, and most of that work’s been making contacts.”
Brabham said the work had to be completed within 18 months of the disaster, so August 2019 is the deadline to use the funding.
“This year, our state has withstood many weather-related disasters, which have unfortunately taken a toll on our roadways across the state,” Manchin stated in a press release. “This funding will help repair and clear roadways that have been damaged by severe storms, flooding, mudslides and landslides for safer travel.”
“West Virginians know all too well the damage that flooding can bring to our communities, but we always pull our neighbors and ourselves up and move forward,” added Capito.