Nearly $200 million in federal funding will be awarded to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for repairs after Superstorm Sandy, according to a statement Sunday from U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office.

Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, both New York Democrats, announced that the Department of Transportation is providing $195.7 million in funds for infrastructure repairs needed after the storm damaged the region’s rail systems and infrastructure, according to the statement.

An estimated $141.5 million of the money will go to the Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation Commuter Rail, and an estimated $54.2 million will go to the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, the statement says.

Damage from Sandy has cost the Port Authority $2 billion to return the agency’s airports, rail system, bridges and tunnels to service.

Gillibrand said the devastation to the region’s mass transit and infrastructure was “unprecedented” and that the funding is critical to help recover and rebuild.

The PATH rail system suffered damage from the millions of gallons of saltwater that flooded the tunnels between New York and New Jersey, the statement says. In the storm’s aftermath, PATH trains had to operate on a limited basis.

The World Trade Center also sustained significant damage. That portion of the funding will go to the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, which is set to open in 2015. It will be home to the PATH system and will connect 13 subway lines and link pedestrians to the World Financial Center.

The federal funding is part of the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, providing relief to communities, families and businesses damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is critical to the region’s trade and transportation network. It includes America’s busiest airport system, marine terminals and ports, the PATH rail transit system, six tunnels and bridges between New York and New Jersey, the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan and the World Trace Center, according to its website.

(Source: CNN)