All the highways damaged in the Colorado floods in September will reopen before Thanksgiving the governor announced Wednesday.
The goal to make that happen was December 1 and the road crews will beat that deadline. Thanksgiving is November 28.
“The united effort of the Colorado Department of Transportation and its road repair partners has been remarkable,” Gov. John Hickenlooper says.
Road construction crews faced the daunting task of restoring 485 miles of damaged or destroyed highways. “CDOT, the Colorado State Patrol, the National Guard and local governments have worked round the clock to reconnect Colorado communities,” Hickenlooper says.
Colorado Highway 7 between Lyons and Allenspark will reopen at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26. This will be the last of the 27 highways to reopen.
Federal and state agencies continue to work to assist thousands of Coloradans affected by the flooding. The following facts and information are provided by Colorado United, the flood recovery team appointed by the governor. The details represent activity through Nov. 18, 2013.
- Of the 18,000 people forced to leave their homes due to the flooding, 24 families remain in temporary housing while more permanent solutions can be found.
- As of Nov. 18, FEMA had approved $54.4 million in Individual Assistance—helping more than 15,600 Coloradans impacted by the flooding. Individual Assistance provides grants for temporary housing, home repairs and other needs. People eligible for assistance need to submit applications before the Dec. 2 deadline via www.DisasterAssistance.gov.
- As of Nov. 18, the FEMA Public Assistance program had committed $16.7 million for flood recovery projects such as debris removal, emergency protective measures and repair of public-owned infrastructure in the 20 counties eligible for Public Assistance. Deadline for applications is Nov. 30.
- As of Nov. 18, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) had approved $71.2 million in low-interest disaster loans to 1,491 homeowners and 198 businesses. SBA loans are available for businesses, homeowners, renters and nonprofit organizations that have experienced physical or economic injury due to the flooding. Deadline for applications is Dec. 2.
- National Flood Insurance payments of $43.5 million have been provided to more than 1,500 claims.
- More than 3,000 flood survivors have received counseling services and another 24,000 have received crisis support information through eight Community Mental Health Centers that received a Crisis Counseling Program Grant to provide group and individual crisis counseling to people impacted by the flood.