(BIVN) – The Hawai‘i County will receive $2,246,668.50 in new federal funding to repair Old Mamalahoa Highway after severe flood damage from Hurricane Lane in 2018, restoring the damaged section of the highway to its pre-disaster condition.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant was announced Tuesday by the office of U.S. Senator Brian Schatz.

“This new grant will help us build guard rails and other improvements on Old Mamalahoa Highway after damage from Hurricane Lane. That way, we can keep the road open even after heavy storms and help Big Island families travel safely,” said Senator Schatz, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “As we continue to recover from the natural disasters of 2018, I’ll keep fighting for more federal resources for our state.”

According to Sen. Schatz, Hawai‘i has received more than $12 million to recover from Hurricane Lane to date, and a half a billion dollars in total federal relief funding to recover from the 2018 natural disasters, including the eruption of Kīlauea volcano.