President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed a disaster declaration for Maine, recognizing the extent of damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene and ensuring that federal aid would be available for state and local recovery efforts.

The funding will be available to the state and some municipal governments on a cost-sharing basis as they work to repair roads and other infrastructure in Franklin, Oxford and York counties damaged by flooding during the Aug. 28 storm, according to a press release from the White House.

Federal funding also will be available throughout the state on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures, the press release said.

“I’m glad that we’re getting the money,” Franklin County Commissioner Clyde Barker said Tuesday night. The funding will replace money spent in Franklin County to recover from Irene, he said. “In some places, they didn’t have money enough to do the jobs, and this will help with that. There’s still a lot more to do,” he said.

Carrabassett Valley Town Manager David Cota was excited to hear of the announcement. The town, where two bridges along Route 27 were washed out, was among the hardest-hit in Maine. The region got more than 8 inches of rain in 16 hours, a 100-year event, he said.

In addition to replacing the bridges and other damaged roads, the town is hoping to rebuild washed-out areas of the Narrow Gauge Pathway, a 5-mile multiuse trail that overlooks the Carrabassett River, Cota said.

The pathway, used by cross-country skiers, cyclists and hikers, has an emotional place in the community, he said.

“It was devastating, the amount of damage” caused by Irene, he said.

He said town officials, who have been working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Franklin County Emergency Management Agency, are “cautiously optimistic” that the funding will be available to rebuild the pathway.

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