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FEMA Provides $400 Million For Sandy-Related Repairs At 2 MTA Tunnels

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Sen. Charles Schumer has worked to secure more than $400 million in federal aid to help cover the damage sustained by two Metropolitan Transportation Authority tunnels during superstorm Sandy.

The federal grant will provide $329 million for repair work and another $74.5 million for hazard mitigation measures for the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel and the Queens Midtown Tunnel.

Both crossings took on millions of gallons of water when the Oct. 2012 storm roared ashore.

Schumer called the grant a "massive and appropriate reimbursement by FEMA."

"As a result of this investment, we will be able to rebuild and modernize two of the most vital arteries - not only in New York, but in all of America - better and stronger than they were before Sandy," the senator said in a statement. "When we drafted the Sandy legislation, it was this type of damage, and this comprehensive type of reimbursement that we had in mind - and we are glad that FEMA and the MTA have been able to forge such a strong agreement on such a complicated issue."

The grant money will go towards raising the height of the flood walls at the plazas, elevating some mechanical equipment and flood-proofing the pipes, among other projects.

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