TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2024
The Biden-Harris Administration recently unveiled almost $830 million in new grant awards to help strengthen surface-transportation systems against extreme weather events.
The new awards from the U.S. Department of Transportation are reportedly the first of their kind dedicated completely to transportation infrastructure resilience and are expected to go out to 80 projects across the United States.
About the Grants
The funding was reportedly made possible by the bipartisan infrastructure law’s Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) Discretionary Grant Program.
The new grants are reportedly meant to help with the PROTECT Formula funding that is already going out to states for these kinds of projects.
The grant program reportedly works to fund projects that help stabilize surface transportation systems against extreme weather events. It is reportedly focused on structures like roads, bridges, highways, public transportation, pedestrian facilities, ports and intercity passenger rails.
The grant is part of nearly $830 million in awards for 80 projects nationwide to make transportation infrastructure more resilient to climate change. https://t.co/tavvRDmKdz
— WPXI (@WPXI) April 11, 2024
By increasing the resilience of these assets, the DOT and Biden expect the investments to cut down on short- and long-term costs by reducing future needs for maintenance and reconstruction.
As part of the announcement, the Federal Highway Administration will reportedly award funding under four different grant types to 80 projects in 37 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. The grants will reportedly include:
“From wildfires shutting down freight rail lines in California to mudslides closing down a highway in Colorado, from a drought causing the halt of barge traffic on the Mississippi River to subways being flooded in New York, extreme weather, made worse by climate change, is damaging America’s transportation infrastructure, cutting people off from getting to where they need to go, and threatening to raise the cost of goods by disrupting supply chains,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“Today, through a first-of-its-kind program created by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we are awarding nearly $830 million to make transportation infrastructure in 39 states and territories more resilient against climate change, so people and supply chains can continue to move safely.”
The program is also expected to aid in environmental justice efforts by addressing the issues in disadvantaged communities that make them more vulnerable to hazards. Project selections in this round of grants reportedly include:
The DOT adds that these awards are in line with the objectives of the National Climate Resilience Framework.
“Every community in America knows the impacts of climate change and extreme weather, including increasingly frequent heavy rain and flooding events across the country and sea-level rise that is inundating infrastructure in coastal states,” said FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt.
“This investment from the Biden-Harris Administration will ensure our infrastructure is built to withstand more frequent and unpredictable extreme weather, which is vitally important for people and businesses that rely on roads and bridges being open to keep our economy moving.”
The full list of grant recipients can be viewed here.
About the Program
At the end of July 2022, 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. Applications for the first round of program funding opened in April of last year.
Tagged categories: Climate monitoring; Construction; Department of Transportation (DOT); Environmental Controls; Environmental Protection; Finance; Funding; Grants; Health & Safety; Health and safety; Infrastructure; Infrastructure; President Biden; Program/Project Management; Rehabilitation/Repair; Roads/Highways; Safety; Transportation
