The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is making $12 million in quick release emergency relief funds immediately available to New Jersey and Connecticut to help begin repairing the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, while assessments continue throughout the Northeast to determine the full extent of the damage.

The funds — $10 million for New Jersey and $2 million for Connecticut — mark another installment of federal-aid highway funds going toward repairing damage from Hurricane Sandy. Earlier this week, FHWA approved $17 million in quick release emergency relief funds — $10 million for New York; $3 million for Rhode Island; and $4 million for North Carolina.

Quick release emergency funds provided by the FHWA are used for a variety of repairs to roads, bridges and tunnels that are immediately necessary. New Jersey will use the funding to help maintain essential traffic flow and repair sections of highway necessary to prevent further damage; Connecticut will use it for general emergency repairs to federal aid highways.

FHWA's emergency relief program provides funds for the repair or reconstruction of federal-aid roads and bridges damaged by natural disasters or catastrophic events. Restoring critical infrastructure is essential to enabling first responders and relief workers to access impacted communities and to quickly restoring services to impacted residents.