EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill.—U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stopped in the Metro East this afternoon to announce $27M in disaster recovery funds as it has rebuilt operations in the region following last summer's record flash flooding.

Buttigieg, along with with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield and U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, took part in in a news conference late Monday afternoon in East St. Louis at the Emerson Park Metrolink station.

The flash flooding event that began July 26, 2022 damaged light-rail tracks, light-rail trains, elevators and the signal house at the Forest Park station, on top of the millions in damage done to homes and buildings around the St. Louis region.

"This very week just last year, St. Louis got two months worth of rain in six hours. leaving many of our neighborhoods underwater and they called it...once in a 1,000 year flooding, and it happened twice within two or three days. This event devastated my district it devastated our communities," Bush said.

Bi-State Development Corp. President Taulby Roach told Spectrum News earlier this month he was expecting a check for $18 million from federal transportation officials to cover losses from the flooding. Instead he got $27.6 million, which is in addition to $198 million the agency was already receiving to replace dozens of light-rail trains, which were at or near the end of their use.

Monday's announcement is part of a larger national rollout of funds to help communities recovering from weather events. 

"Investments like the one we're celebrating here today aren't just about upgrading railways or equipment, they're about investing in our people, they're about investing in our environment and our economy," Budzinski said. "These funds will help us bring our transportation system into the 21st century paving the way for faster, safer and more efficient travel for passengers and this makes our system more resilient in the face of extreme weather." 

Buttigieg and Budzinski were in Savoy, Ill., south of Champaign earlier Monday to highlight $22 million in federal infrastructure funds for a project there.