Applications Open for PROTECT Grant Program

THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2023


Last week, the Federal Highway Administration opened applications for the first round of the bipartisan infrastructure law’s Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Discretionary Grant Program. 

“Climate change threatens not just our lives and livelihoods, but the infrastructure we rely on every day,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With these grants, we will help ensure that our roads, bridges, and highways are resilient enough to withstand extreme weather, and will create good-paying jobs along the way.”   

About the Program

Last year, at the end of July, the FHWA announced the first-of-its-kind infrastructure program to help states prepare for and respond to extreme weather events. The $7.3 billion PROTECT Formula Program funding is available through President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law.

The PROTECT program offers the funding to states over five years to make transportation infrastructure more resilient to future weather events and other natural disasters, such as wildfires, flooding and extreme heat. The focus will be on resilience planning, making resilience improvements to existing transportation assets and evacuation routes, and addressing at-risk highway infrastructure.

According to the FHWA, in general, eligible projects include highway and transit projects, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and port facilities including those that help improve evacuations or disaster relief. States are encouraged to work with regional and local partner organizations to prioritize transportation, emergency response improvements and address vulnerabilities.

Eligible improvements can involve adapting existing transportation infrastructure or new construction to keep communities safe by bolstering infrastructure’s ability to withstand extreme weather events and other physical hazards. Additionally, projects may include the use of natural or green infrastructure to buffer future storm surges and provide flood protection, as well as aquatic ecosystem restoration.

The FHWA reports that PROTECT builds on other U.S. Department of Transportation actions to support the Biden Administration’s approach to reducing greenhouse gas pollution by 2030. These actions include a proposed rule for states and municipalities to track and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; the Carbon Reduction Program, which will provide $6.4 billion in formula funding to states and local governments to develop carbon reduction strategies; and the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, which will provide $5 billion to states to build out a national electric vehicle charging network.

A breakdown of estimated funding for the program over five years by state can be found here

First Round Applications

On April 21, as part of the Investing in America agenda, it was announced by the DOT that applications were open for $848 million in competitive grant funding to improve the country’s surface transportation system against impacts of climate change.

According to the release, the program prioritizes innovative and collaborative approaches to risk reduction, including approaches that harness the power of nature to protect against flood, erosion, wave damage and heat impacts.

The grant funding comes on top of PROTECT formula funding already provided to states. Projects funded by sates using funding through the $7.3 billion PROTECT Formula Program include:

  • Design phase work in Kentucky to raise a two-mile stretch of Kentucky-459 above the floodplain, including raising the Bull Run Creek Bridge;
  • Planning in Alaska to evaluate areas to enhance the resiliency of roads, bridges, and associated infrastructure after they were damaged by Typhoon Merbok and subsequent Bering and Chukchi Sea storm events in the fall of 2022;
  • Improvements in New Hampshire to NH Route 16 that will move the road 200 feet and address frequent wash outs and unstable slopes due flooding from the Androscoggin River;
  • Resilience improvements to the I-20 Wateree River Bridge in South Carolina to replace the bridge’s shallow foundations with deep foundations; and
  • Raising the elevation of Louisiana Highway 1 (LA 1) to make it more resilient to flooding during extreme weather events across the Gulf of Mexico.

“Every community in America knows the impacts of climate change and extreme weather, whether that means record rainfall in California, flooding up and down the Mississippi River; hurricanes venturing as far south as Puerto Rico and as far north as Delaware; or wildfires not limited to a defined season and becoming instead a constant threat to more and more Americans,” said FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt. 

“This investment from the Biden Harris Administration to ensure our infrastructure is built to withstand more frequent and unpredictable extreme weather is critical for communities counting on a road or bridge to be open for first responders, and it is critical for a business that must get its essential goods to shelves.”

The DOT reports that grant applicants at all levels of government, from local governments and Indian Tribes to State DOTs, are encouraged to apply. The Notice of Funding Opportunity can be found here. Applications will remain open through Aug. 18.

   

Tagged categories: Climate Control; Climate monitoring; Department of Transportation (DOT); Environmental Controls; Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); Funding; Government contracts; Grants; Infrastructure; Infrastructure; NA; North America; President Biden; Program/Project Management; Transportation

Join the Conversation:

Sign in to our community to add your comments.