The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today announced new guidance and $7.3 billion in formula funding. In order to fight the effects of climate change and extreme weather events that are impacting communities, this is a first-of-its-kind program was made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
“In every part of the country, climate change is impacting roads, bridges, and rail lines that Americans rely on--endangering homes, lives and livelihoods in the process,” said Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Transportation Secretary. “Using funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we're launching this unprecedented effort to help communities protect their transportation infrastructure from extreme weather and improve routes that first responders and firefighters need during disasters.”
The new Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Formula Program funding is available to states over a five-year period in order to make transportation infrastructure more resilient to future weather events and other natural disasters by focusing on resilience planning, making resilience improvements to existing transportation assets and evacuation routes, and addressing at-risk highway infrastructure. Eligible projects include highway and transit projects, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and port facilities including those that help improve evacuations or disaster relief.
“We see the effects of climate change and extreme weather play out across the country every week, with extreme temperatures and rainfall and resulting flooding and wildfires that damage and in some cases destroy roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure,” said Stephanie Pollack, Acting Federal Highway Administrator. “The PROTECT Formula Program will help make transportation infrastructure more resilient to current and future weather events and at the same time make communities safer during these events.”
PROTECT builds on other USDOT actions to address the climate crisis and that support the approach to reducing greenhouse gas pollution by 2030, such as 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 provides $5 billion to states to build out a national electric vehicle charging network, an important step towards making electric vehicle charging accessible to all Americans.
Eligible resilience improvements can be adapting existing transportation infrastructure or new construction to keep communities safe by improving infrastructure’s ability to withstand extreme weather events that are becoming more common and intense. Eligible project choices may include the use of natural or green infrastructure to buffer future storm surges and provide flood protection, as well as aquatic ecosystem restoration. PROTECT projects can also help improve the resilience of transportation networks that serve traditionally underserved and underrepresented communities, particularly during natural disasters and evacuations.
--------------------------
Source: USDOT
