Washington State experienced significant damage to county road systems from the atmospheric river storm last winter. To assist county road departments with the funding uncertainty and cash flow challenges that can result from disasters like this, the Legislature appropriated $30 million for CRAB to establish a temporary loan program earlier this year.
We are thrilled to announce the Disaster Relief Loan Program is now open and accepting projects until September 11th!
The program will equitably provide financial assistance for county transportation infrastructure damage and impacts from the December 2025 weather events in counties that have met the damage amount indicator for federal public assistance. This financial assistance will be in form of 0% loans based on actual or estimated costs. We encourage eligible counties to apply and are working to keep the program as simple and straightforward as possible so you can move forward on your projects.
ELIGIBLE COUNTIES
The program is available to counties identified in the Governor's Emergency Proclamation (Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Franklin, Ferry, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kittitas, Lewis, Mason, Okanogan, Pacific, Pend Oreille, Pierce, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Spokane, Stevens, Thurston, Wahkiakum, Whatcom, and Yakima Counties) as long as they remain in compliance with the Standards of Good Practice.
ELIGIBLE PROJECTS
Eligible projects for the program will include county roads and bridges directly related to the severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides and mudslides. Work eligible for the disaster recovery loans must be eligible under one of the following programs:
FEMA Category A – Debris Removal (county road only)
FEMA Category C – Roads and Bridges
FHWA Emergency Relief (ER) Program
ELIGIBLE COSTS
Eligible costs include work of either a temporary or permanent nature, which restores roads and bridges to a pre-emergency condition AND may include reconstruction to current design standards and federal program match requirements.
This work must be directly related to the sudden natural destruction or severe damage to county roadway sections or structures from the December 2025 weather events. It must be beyond the scope of work done by a county in repairing damage normally or reasonably expected from seasonal or other natural conditions and must be beyond what would be considered maintenance.
LOAN DETAILS
Loans will be 0% against the requested receipt of federal funds from FEMA and FHWA for emergency project costs. Upon receipt of federal funds covering these costs, the county must send those funds to CRAB within 90 days of receipt of the federal funds to pay down the loan. Upon completion of all identified projects, any unused loan funds shall be returned to CRAB within 90 days of completion of all projects.
It is the intent of the Legislature that if federal reimbursement for these costs is not provided, in whole or in part, the remaining loan amounts will be forgiven.
NEXT STEPS
If your county desires to pursue a loan, please complete the attached spreadsheet with the required project information no later than September 11, 2026. If eligible, your county likely has already submitted most of this information to either the state’s Emergency Management Division or WSDOT Local Programs.
Counties are not required to participate in this loan program. However, we encourage all eligible counties to participate and take advantage of the 0% loan to assist with the cash flow challenges associated with the reimbursement process on federal disaster programs.
QUESTIONS
We will be holding a support hour on Tuesday, September 1st at 2pm. It will be a casual open office hour on Teams for those who have questions about the program or the application process. Please reach out to DisasterRecovery@crab.wa.gov with any questions or concerns and we look forward to working with you in this next step!
