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REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
EMERGENCY HURRICANE RELIEF
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA
SEPTEMBER 21, 2004
11 AM
Good morning.
Last week, Pensacola felt the full fury of Hurricane Ivan. As the fierce storm
slammed ashore, homes and businesses were destroyed, and lives were torn apart.
The devastation from the hurricane’s ferocious winds and rains extended to vital
segments of the region’s transportation infrastructure.
Frank Miller, Director of the Pensacola Regional Airport, has just taken us on a
tour of Pensacola Regional Airport, and we have seen the damage for ourselves.
It is quite extensive.
Ivan ripped the southern roof off of the TRACON building, and the subsequent
water damage has affected much of the sensitive electronic equipment used to
guide air traffic safely in and out of the Western panhandle of Florida. The
roof of this terminal building also felt Ivan’s wrath, and a wall in the
passenger concourse has collapsed.
The hurricane has put this airport, which last year served almost 700,000
departing passengers, out of commission. On a normal day, hundreds of travelers
would be hurrying toward the gates to catch one of the 39 daily flights leaving
from Pensacola Regional Airport. Today, those gates are closed tight.
When President Bush was in the area to view the hurricane damage on Sunday, he
pledged the full cooperation of the federal government to make sure that all the
aid that is available gets down here as quickly as possible.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is working to make good on the President’s
pledge.
Working in partnership with FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security, our
teams have been delivering vital supplies and equipment. These supplies include
over 5 million gallons of water, over 7 million pounds of ice, and nearly 3.5
million meals brought into the Pensacola area. Thirty-five thousand rolls of
plastic sheeting were brought in to help patch roofs until permanent repairs can
be made. In all, if the trucks that we sent were lined up end-to-end, they would
stretch out over 10 miles.
As it relates to the damage that we’ve seen today, I am here to announce on
behalf of President Bush, that we are making nearly $2.5 million in airport
funds available to get the terminal building reopened. That is money to help
make the repairs needed to put the airport back the way it was before Ivan found
it.
We heard today that we expect full commercial service will resume here on
Friday. This good news is a tribute to the men and women you see behind me.
Their efforts have been nothing short of heroic. Indeed, even while they have
suffered their own losses from the hurricane, they have selflessly put the
public interest first.
They’ve been working around the clock, living on MREs and whatever food that
could be brought in, to give this community back its air service.
Whether it is the work of those dedicated federal, state, and local public
servants, or the money that we make available for repairs, reopening the airport
is an important step toward getting life back to normal for the people of the
Pensacola area. It will help reunite families who have been separated by the
storm and make business travel less difficult.
That is only one of the challenges that we face. The difficulty of travel around
Pensacola has been further complicated by the virtual collapse of major sections
of the Escambia Bay Bridges on Interstate 10. We will be inspecting the damage
to the bridges later this afternoon.
Losing these bridges that 4,200 vehicles travel every day creates major
headaches for families and commuters. It makes it difficult to restock the
shelves in Pensacola’s stores, and it disrupts the commerce that relies on this
major east-west highway.
So, as a down payment to get the repair work going as quickly as possible, the
Bush Administration is making $2 million in emergency highway assistance
available immediately.
Federal Highway Administrator Mary Peters is here with me today, and she and her
team at FHWA have been working closely with Secretary Jose Abreu and the Florida
Department of Transportation. They are prepared to use the best in rapid
construction technology so that traffic can safely resume along this vital
highway as soon as possible.
It will take some time because of how badly Ivan tore up the bridges. In
addition to the missing concrete slabs that we have all seen in photographs, the
piers below the water have been damaged. The plans that we’re working with will
allow the westbound span to reopen for traffic within 24 days.
The damage done by Hurricane Ivan to Pensacola’s bridges, roads, and airport
reminds us of how much we rely on our transportation network and how important
it is to our economy and quality of life. On behalf of the Bush Administration,
I extend our deepest sympathies to those families suffering loss of lives and
injuries.
I am pleased to be able to make these two grants, totaling $4.5 million, to get
Pensacola moving again. We all look forward to the work that this money will
help fund, and the reopening of these vital transportation links.
Thank you.
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