Hyde-Smith Announces $5.9 Million for Continued Recovery From Tropical Storm Arthur & Winter Storm Fern

Tuesday, October 20, 2026 HYDE-SMITH ANNOUNCES $5.9 MILLION FOR CONTINUED RECOVERY FROM TROPICAL STORM ARTHUR & WINTER STORM FERN Two Federal Highway Administration Grants Will Provide Aid Statewide WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), chair of the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, today announced the award of two grants totaling $5.9 million to help Mississippi continue recovery work associated with Tropical Storm Arthur and Winter Storm Fern. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approved the grants, which derive from the agency’s Emergency Relief for Federal-aid Highways ( ERFA ) and Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads ( ERFO ) programs.  The grant funding will help the state and U.S. Forest Service defray the cost of repairs to federal-aid eligible roads, bridges, and other infrastructure. “Winter Storm Fern in January, followed by the drenching Tropical Storm Arthur early this summer, damaged transportation infrastructure throughout Mississippi.  These two FHWA grants will augment the significant resources already spent by federal, state, and local entities to overcome these two natural disasters,” said Hyde-Smith, who last week toured Gulf Coast federal highway projects with FHWA Administrator Sean McMaster. The Mississippi Department of Transportation is being awarded more than $3.0 million in ERFA funding for costs associated with damage caused by Tropical Storm Arthur, which caused severe storms, tornadoes, and flash flooding on June 18-19. The U.S. Forest Service will receive more than $2.8 million in ERFO funding to address Winter Storm Fern damage to roads and trails in the state’s national forests during the Jan. 23-27 disaster that blanketed 38 counties in ice. Hyde-Smith in June used an oversight hearing to highlight the risks posed by the delayed cleanup of significant damage to privately owned and national forest property caused by major natural disasters in Mississippi. ### Issues Agriculture Energy and Environment Infrastructure & Public Works Jobs and Economy Rural Communities Region Capital Coast Delta East Central Golden Triangle North Mississippi Pine Belt Southwest