Washington, DC— Last week, Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04), along with Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Congressman Mondaire Jones (NY-17) sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) asking it to prioritize using recently approved construction funding for the Byram River Basin project.
Flooding of the Byram River Basin has been a persistent problem for affected residents who suffer continued property damage and threat to their homes. The USACE has determined that two U.S. Route 1 bridges are major contributors to the flooding. A 2020 USACE study recommended removing and replacing the bridges. The Representatives and Senators asked that the USACE use appropriated funding provided by the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act to begin work on this critical project.
The Act, which Rep. Himes supported, includes $3 billion to accelerate the construction of authorized flood and storm damage reduction projects. Because there is a backlog of authorized projects that haven’t received an appropriation, it’s critical that USACE prioritizes funding projects in flood-prone areas, like in the Byram River Basin.
“In the wake of Hurricane Ida, we once again see how vulnerable many of our communities are to flooding,” said Congressman Himes. “And those thousands of people living around the Byram River Basin in Greenwich and Port Chester get hammered by rising waters again and again. We know the problem and we know the solution. We’re asking that the Army Corps takes swift action to fund this vital project to prevent any more flood damage, road closures, downed power lines, and unsafe conditions.”
The full text of the letter can be found here.
For more information, contact Elena Radding at Elena.Radding@mail.house.gov.
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