FRA seeks applicants for disaster assistance funding program

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has announced that $1.87 million in disaster assistance funding is available through the Railroad Rehabilitation and Repair Grant Program to rehabilitate or repair regional and short-line infrastructure damaged by hurricanes, floods and other natural occurrences.

The damage to Class II or III railroad infrastructure must have occurred in locations deemed a natural disaster area by the federal government after Jan. 1, 2008.

Interested state departments of transportation may submit grant applications to the FRA until 5 p.m. (EST) on Dec. 9.

In 2009, the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act provided the FRA up to $20 million in federal funding for the Railroad Rehabilitation and Repair Grant Program. Due to various factors, such as projects completed under their awarded amount, about $1.87 million is still available through the program, FRA officials said in a Federal Register notice.

Work covered by program grants must involve rehabilitation or repairs to regionals' and short lines' rights of way, bridges, signals and other main infrastructure.