The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently announced the immediate availability of $4.65 million in emergency relief funds to offset the costs of repairing road damage in the Cherokee National Forest due to flooding last month.
“These emergency funds will help restore vital transportation links in the Cherokee National Forest that were damaged by last month’s floods,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “Transportation is an essential part of disaster recovery, and these funds will help clear debris and reconstruct pavement so that emergency vehicles can access the area, and residents can access their homes.”
FHWA announced the availability of $4.65M in “quick release” #EmergencyReliefFunds for use by the @forestservice to repair damages to federally owned roadways caused by heavy rain & severe flooding at the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee last month. https://t.co/2xDuE3AP09 pic.twitter.com/krOLNxwdkg
— Federal Highway Admn (@USDOTFHWA) September 25, 2023
On August 17, the U.S. Forest Service announced trees were downed and “many roads experienced extensive erosion in the Tellico River area east of Tellico Plains” during a string of severe weather.
In response, the Tellico Ranger District enacted an emergency closure of the Cherohala Skyway.
Repairs on the Cherohala Skyway have since been completed. The Tennessee Department of Transportation held a reopening ceremony to mark the reopening of the Skyway last week.
Despite the reopening of the Skyway, a large portion of other public forest roads in Cherokee National Forest remain impassable by standard passenger vehicles due to last month’s storms, according to the FHWA.
“The damage is so extensive that emergency vehicles and utility crews cannot make their way into the forest to make essential repairs. Furthermore, private homeowners on the Cherokee National Forest cannot access their property and are having difficulty evacuating the area,” the FHWA added in a press release.
“The Federal Highway Administration is working closely with the U.S. Forest Service to make repairs and re-establish transportation services in Cherokee National Forest,” FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt added in a statement. “This funding is an initial down payment toward the cost of repairs to help authorities get the work done as quickly as possible.”
Approximately 2 million people visit the 650,000-acre Cherokee National Forest every year, according to estimates by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Cherokee National Forest Road Damage” by Federal Highway Admn.
