Biden-Harris Administration Sends Millions to Help Connecticut With Flood Recovery

Connecticut’s Department of Transportation will receive $3 million in emergency funding from the Biden-Harris administration to help the state fund recovery and road repair work necessitated by historic flooding in August, state officials announced last week.

The federal assistance comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Emergency Relief program and will support infrastructure repair efforts that have been underway since Aug. 18, when severe rainfall and flash flooding washed out roads and bridges in the western region of the state.

In a press release, Gov. Ned Lamont said the flooding event had a devastating impact on the area’s transportation infrastructure as well as homes and businesses. Lamont thanked members of the Biden-Harris administration for authorizing the quick release of the funding.

“Our administration will continue pursuing additional federal emergency relief funds to help our communities rebuild, including for homeowners and businesses who have been impacted and need support,” the governor said.

On Monday, the governor announced he had submitted a formal request for a major disaster declaration for communities in Fairfield, Litchfield, and New Haven Counties as a result of the storm damage.

If the administration grants the federal disaster declaration, the state could receive additional funding to reimburse homeowners, businesses and local governments, according to a press release.

In a letter to President Joe Biden, Lamont described the state’s preliminary assessment of the damage inflicted by the historic storm: three people died as a direct result of the storm, flooding destroyed 19 homes in the state, caused major damage to 170 homes, and minor damage to hundreds more.

Meanwhile, the storm caused major damage to 77 businesses and minor damage to another 51 businesses, according to the governor.

“People who live in the communities impacted by this historic storm are shaken as many of them have experienced significant damage to their homes and businesses and need support to rebuild and recover,” Lamont said.

In the meantime, state work crews and contractors have been working since the storm to reopen roads for safe travel. As of Thursday, the Connecticut Department of Transportation had reopened more than 25 roads that had been closed due to storm damage, Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said.

“Their hard work and efforts have truly been remarkable,” he said. “I appreciate the support of the USDOT, FHWA [Federal Highway Administration], and our federal delegation who continue supporting the state during the ongoing recovery efforts.”

By Hugh McQuaid