(The U.S. Department of Transportation issued the following news release on September 22.)
WASHINGTON — Mobile air traffic control equipment, technical personnel, trucks, buses, airplanes and ocean-going vessels are now in place to support the massive federal, state and local effort to prepare for Hurricane Rita, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta announced today.
“We are working hand in hand with federal, state and local officials to make sure they have every available transportation asset in place to get people out, supplies in and key facilities back up and running in areas where Hurricane Rita is expected to make landfall,” Secretary Mineta said.
Secretary Mineta noted that the U.S. Department of Transportation is taking the following steps to support Federal Emergency Management Agency and the states of Texas and Louisiana as they prepare for Hurricane Rita. The Secretary noted that additional resources will be provided as requested by the states:
Aircraft and Air Traffic Control
* Securing aircraft to evacuate Texas residents, as well as Hurricane
Katrina evacuees, by air from Houston to Ft. Smith and from Corpus
Christi and Beaumont to Smyrna, Tennessee.
* Putting six MD-80 aircraft on standby in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to
support another airlift out of Louisiana if needed.
* Pre-positioning mobile communications and navigational equipment along
with technical personnel in Austin, Texas and Baton Rouge to deploy
after the storm passes to restore basic air traffic control services.
* Maintaining a small staff at Houston aviation facilities to reactivate
key equipment as soon as possible after the storm leaves the area.
Buses
* Providing over 650 buses in response to requests from Texas and
Louisiana officials to help to support evacuation efforts.
* Working with transit agencies across the country to identify additional
buses that can be acquired and deployed to support evacuations in Texas
and Louisiana as needed.
Trucks and Supplies
* Delivering one tanker of diesel fuel, six trucks of tarps, five trucks
of plastic sheeting, two trailers filled with cots, one trailer filled
with tents and one filled with sleeping bags to FEMA staging areas in
Texas. These deliveries are in addition to supplies already provided
to the region as part of the Hurricane Katrina response.
* Putting ten trucks on standby at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio to move
additional supplies as needed.
* Suspending rules limiting hours of service for truck drivers in the
affected region so emergency and repair crews will be able to work as
needed to support evacuation, recovery and repair operations.
Trains and Equipment
* Working with railroad operators, the Association of American Railroads
and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association to
identify hazmat cars in Texas and Louisiana and evacuate cars as
needed.
* Maintaining an expedited process for issuing waivers to allow rail
operators to clear damaged equipment in order to resume operations
after the Hurricane passes through the region.
Ports and Shipping
* Staging personnel with expertise in repairing port infrastructure in
New Orleans to deploy as needed to support repair efforts.
* Maintaining twelve Ready Reserve Vessels in New Orleans (4); Port
Sulphur, Louisiana (1); Houston (2); Orange, Texas (3); and Beaumont
(2) so they will be available to provide power, equipment and housing
for workers in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita.
In addition, personnel from the Department of Transportation are working with state and local officials to assess transportation infrastructure in the regions likely to be affected by Hurricane Rita. These teams are beginning to develop plans to quickly repair and rebuild roads, bridges, ports, pipelines and airports should they be damaged by Hurricane Rita, Mineta noted.