The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has released $830 million for 80 projects aimed at making surface transportation systems more resilient to extreme weather events such as flooding, sea-level rise, and heat waves. These grants, the first of their kind dedicated to transportation infrastructure resilience, aim to bolster bridges, roads, ports, rail, transit, and other infrastructure across 37 states, Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands – much of which was primarily designed before climate impacts were taken into consideration. This funding is part of the federal effort to mitigate the impacts of climate change, with President Joe Biden earmarking more than $50 billion for climate-related projects through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Read the full article from Smart Cities Dive here for more insights, but in summary, the release of these Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) funds signifies a significant step in our country's efforts to combat the impacts of climate change on national transportation infrastructure, and the focus on "resilience in the face of extreme weather events" reflects a recognition of the increasing frequency and severity of such events due to climate change. These grants are expected to reduce both short- and long-term costs by minimizing future maintenance and reconstruction needs, indicating a proactive and cost-effective approach to infrastructure management.

The fact that these are the first grants of their kind dedicated to transportation infrastructure resilience highlights the novelty of the approach, but suggests that perhaps such initiatives could become more common in the future.

The allocation of funds to specific types of projects—resilience improvement, coastal infrastructure, community resilience and evacuation, and planning—suggests a strategic and targeted approach to addressing different aspects of climate resilience.

In our region, funding recipients include:

• "The Bathtub" – Protect the Parkway (I-376) Floodwall Improvement Project

• PennDOT will receive $6.7 million to increase the height of the floodwall that protects I-376 in Downtown Pittsburgh from flooding by the Monongahela River. The project will significantly reduce highway closures, delays, traffic congestion and the associated risks and costs of flooding while increasing safety for travelers and emergency personnel.

Other funding recipients include:

• South Dakota's Oglala Sioux Tribe to improve two sections of BIA Route 33
• Cedar Rapid, Iowa, to replace the 86-year-old Arc of Justice Bridge
• David, California, to install cool pavement technologies to combat urban heat island effect and rehabilitate roadways
• Golden, Colorado, to control flooding in Lena Gulch
• And Philadelphia to rehabilitate two deteriorating bridges over Wissahickon Creek

The grants take four forms:

• $621M in resilience improvement funds granted to 36 recipients for enhancing drainage, roadways and other upgrade projects
• $119M in coastal infrastructure funding to be divided among 8 projects
• $45M in community resilience and evacuation grants across 10 projects
• And $45M in planning grants to be split among 26 projects

Source: Smart Cities Dive