COLUMBIA, S.C. – At the request of Governor Henry McMaster and South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) Secretary Christy Hall, SCDOT has been approved for $8 million in Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) “Quick Release” Emergency Funds. USDOT Secretary Elaine Chao confirmed the approval over a phone call with the governor this afternoon.

These funds would allow SCDOT to accelerate the start of repair work in the areas where highway infrastructure has been damaged.

Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall explained the importance of receiving the federal dollars rapidly.

“SCDOT will be able to put our contractors to work immediately with funds available to pay them as they complete the work. This is a great step forward in getting our highway system back to where it was before the storm and the flooding struck our state. I’d like to thank Governor McMaster and our partners at FHWA for securing these funds for South Carolina,” said Hall.

SCDOT engineers and inspectors who are part of the agency’s damage assessment teams are already on the ground in the affected counties as the flood waters begin to recede.

To learn more about the FHWA Emergency Funds program, click here.  https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/erelief.cfm