Lake County News- Thompson announces $2 million in emergency funds for Napa earthquake
By: Staff
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) announced Monday that $2 million in emergency relief funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is being allocated to help the California Department of Transportation and local agencies cover repair costs for infrastructure damaged by the Aug. 24 earthquake.
"This earthquake severely damaged a lot of our infrastructure and these funds will go a long way towards helping our community recover," said Thompson. "I will continue working with the DOT and all federal agencies to make sure our district gets the emergency resources we need to rebuild and recover."
Caltrans has identified numerous locations with damage to bridges and roadways, with preliminary cost estimates already totaling at least $10 million at this time.
The earthquake caused widespread surface cracking on roadways, such as S.R. 121 north of the Sonoma/Napa County line at Cuttings Wharf, and significant stress to joints on bridges, including the Napa River Bridge on S.R. 29.
All bridges are safe and open to traffic. The state's primary focus is determining whether bridge joints should be repaired or replaced.
On Sunday, a magnitude-6.0 earthquake struck the Napa and Solano County area at approximately 3:20 a.m.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenter was three miles from American Canyon, six miles from Napa, and eight miles from Sonoma.
The earthquake was the largest to hit the Bay Area in 25 years.
Gov. Brown has declared a state of emergency, as have the Napa County Boards of Supervisors and the city of Napa.
Thompson represents California's Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.