BURLINGTON, VT – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today announced the delivery of $20 million in new federal funding, administered by the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Highway Administration, to the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) to support disaster recovery efforts from severe flooding in July 2023 and July 2024. The funding will be used to help repair extensive damage to roads, bridges, culverts, and transportation infrastructure, as well as significant property losses across eleven counties and 39 communities in state of Vermont. 

“This $20 million in federal funding will help Vermont restore vital transportation infrastructure, but there’s still much work to be done,” said Senator Welch. “I’m committed to delivering on our promise to ensure every flood-impacted community has the resources they need to rebuild and recover stronger than before, and will keep pushing for the full delivery of this long-awaited funding.” 

“This $20 million in Federal Highway Administration Emergency Relief funding is critical to help Vermont recover from the damage to our transportation infrastructure and deliver the repairs that our communities need in response to the flooding in 2023 and 2024,” said Vermont Transportation Secretary Joe Flynn. “These projects will restore important bridges, culverts, embankments, and roads to improve safety and help keep Vermonters connected to the communities and services that they rely on every day. We’re grateful for this investment, which will help us deliver these much-needed repairs and strengthen our transportation network for the future.” 

This funding will support flood recovery efforts in the following counties and communities: 

• Addison County: Ripton 
• Caledonia County: Barnet, Hardwick, Lyndon, St. Johnsbury 
• Chittenden County: Richmond 
• Essex County: Brighton 
• Lamoille County: Stowe, Wolcott 
• Orange County: Brookfield, Chelsea, Topsham, Tunbridge, Vershire, Washington, Williamstown 
• Orleans County: Barton, Morgan 
• Rutland County: Mt. Holly 
• Washington County: Barre Town, Berlin, Middlesex, Moretown, Northfield, Plainfield, Woodbury, Worcester 
• Windham County: Jamaica, Londonderry, Wardsboro 
• Windsor County: Andover, Bridgewater, Cavendish, Chester, Ludlow, Plymouth, Reading, Royalton, Weston 

Senator Welch has advocated for disaster aid funding throughout Vermont’s catastrophic back-to-back flooding in July 2023 and July 2024. On the anniversaries of Vermont’s severe floods, Senator Welch introduced the Disaster Assistance Improvement and Decentralization (AID) Act, which would cut red tape and support hazard mitigation efforts, make the delivery of disaster aid more efficient and effective, provide technical assistance to small towns and communities impacted by natural disasters, and block the White House from withholding funding for disaster response. The bill was inspired and shaped by the disaster recovery experience of communities across Vermont.  

The Senator also introduced the Rural Recovery Act, which would create a new program at U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) to provide RD state offices with automatic funding for emergency recovery technical assistance after disasters take place in their jurisdiction. 

Learn more about Senator Welch’s work by visiting his website or by following him on social media.    

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