$7.3 Billion Federal Resilience Funding Program Announced

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently announced new guidance and $7.3 billion in funding for the PROTECT Formula Program. PROTECT is a first-of-its kind program, made possible by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, “to help states and communities better prepare for and respond to extreme weather events like wildfires, flooding, and extreme heat,” according to an FHWA press release published on July 29.

“The new Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Formula Program funding is available to states over five years 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,” according to the press release.

The press release also indicates that transit projects, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and port facilities will all be eligible for funding under the program.

“Eligible resilience 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 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,” according to the press release.

More details of the PROTECT program are available on the FHWA website.