23 U.S.C. § 170 — Funding flexibility for transportation emergencies

(a) In General. No matter what other laws say, a State may use up to 100 percent of its "covered funds" (defined below) to repair or replace a transportation facility that has suffered serious damage from a natural disaster or from a catastrophic failure caused by something outside the facility. (b) Declaration of Emergency. The State may use funds this way only for a disaster or emergency the President has declared under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. (c) Repayment. If the repairs or replacement are later covered by a supplemental appropriation, the State must repay the funds it used under subsection (a) to the program the funds originally came from. (d) Definitions. (1) "Covered funds" means amounts apportioned to a State under section 104(b), other than amounts suballocated to metropolitan and other areas of the State under section 133(d) — but it does include amounts within that apportionment that are required to be set aside for some purpose other than repairing or replacing a transportation facility under this section. (2) "Transportation facility" means any facility eligible for assistance under section 125.