WASHINGTON, DC – Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation today announced that the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) will receive $15 million in federal funding to help repair roads and infrastructure damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

“These federal funds will help RIDOT make necessary repairs and rebuild roads that were damaged by Sandy,” said U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Representatives Jim Langevin and David Cicilline in a joint statement.

Last month, President Obama signed into law the Superstorm Sandy Supplemental Appropriations bill, bringing the total Sandy aid enacted by Congress to $60.4 billion.  The funding package included federal aid to help homeowners, business, and communities recover, and resources to rebuild coastal, transportation, and clean water infrastructure.

According to the latest statistics from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA), Rhode Islanders submitted over 1,000 claims of storm damage as a result of Sandy and FEMA has paid out over $14.9 million.  FEMA says the latest data shows about 40 percent of all flood claims in Rhode Island have been closed.  FEMA has extended the deadline for Rhode Islanders with losses from Sandy to register for assistance until February 13.

To help the state with cleanup and recovery efforts, Rhode Island has also received $3.2 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program funds for storm-related recovery activities, such as repairing homes, businesses, sewage facilities, and public buildings.  The state also received an initial installment of $3 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation for road repairs immediately after the storm and $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Labor’s National Emergency Grant (NEG) to provide temporary employment on projects to assist with cleanup.