Flood Recovery Funds Allocated For Southwest Iowa
Over $30 million in federal funds are headed to Iowa for the repair of roads and highways damaged during last year’s historic flooding event.
Iowa’s Third District U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne announced Friday that the Iowa Department of Transportation is receiving a $30.3 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration Emergency Relief Program (FHP).
“I’m glad to see this money to help complete repairs and reopen roads coming in,” Axne said. “I saw the damage to our roads firsthand, and it’s why I fought last year to increase FHP emergency grants by $500 million. With these resources, we give local repair efforts the time and resources they need to finish repairs and reinforce our infrastructure against future floods.”
Axne noted that flood damage along the Interstate 29 corridor, U.S. Highway 34 and Iowa Highway 2 caused road closures and increased traffic on locally-maintained roads. Levee breaches along the Missouri River in western Iowa also accelerated roadway flooding on Interstate 29, Highway 34 and Highway 2 in Mills and Fremont counties.
The $500 million referenced by Axne was added to the FHP last spring through an amendment to federal disaster legislation. President Trump signed the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 into law in June, which included $3 billion for Midwest flooding.
Additional flood support funding for southwest Iowa was also announced last month by Gov. Kim Reynolds, who signed Senate File 2144 into law which provides over $21 million for flood recovery efforts in southwest and eastern Iowa. District 23 State Rep. David Sieck and District 12 State Sen. Mark Costello took part in the signing ceremony with the governor.
In addition to providing supplemental funds for flood damage, the bill also provides money for the Glenwood Resource Center (GRC).
Colin Tadlock, communications director for Iowa House Republicans, told The Opinion-Tribune the funds allocated to the GRC will be used to assist with the evaluation of resident treatment plans.
“The funding is being used to pay for work by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics to review the treatment plans of every resident to ensure they are getting the appropriate care,” Tadlock said. “It is also being used to pay for outside consultants to come in and assess the services at Glenwood and identify areas that need improvement.”