PROTECT Program
Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) Program
Background:
In November 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), was passed into law. The IIJA included $8.7 billion to create the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) discretionary grant program. The purpose of the PROTECT program to help local agencies improve the resiliency of their on-system transportation infrastructure. Specifically, the program provides federal funding to projects to help communities address vulnerabilities due to weather, natural disasters, and climate change. The program also provides funds to plan transportation improvements and emergency response strategies to address those vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities the program addresses include, but are not limited to, current and future weather events, increasing frequency and magnitude of natural disasters, and changing climate conditions, including sea level rise. PROTECT grants include resilience improvement grants, community resilience and evacuation route grants, and at-risk coastal infrastructure grants.
The PROTECT program funds are distributed Federally and by formula and by competitive grants. Most of the funds ($7.3B) are to be distributed by formula, while the remainder of the funds ($1.4B) are to be distributed by competitive grant.
The State Senate Bill SB-198 created and gave the California Transportation Commission (CTC) the lead over the Local Adaptation Infrastructure Program, which includes lead over the local PROTECT formula grant program. Along with the change in lead oversight roles, SB-198 added approximately $150M in State funding to the already allocated federal PROTECT formula funds.
CTC Staff, under the direction of the CTC Commissioners, are developing the CTC PROTECT program guidelines, along with a CTC PROTECT Program web site. The CTC PROTECT Program web site will be linked here once it is up and should include the CTC PROTECT Program guidelines and other program specific information and materials.
Protect Program Resources
More Information and links coming soon.
For more information concerning this program contact:
Teresa Favila
California Transportation Commission
1120 N Street, MS-52
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 653-2064
Also, please feel free to send comments regarding this web site to the DLA Webmaster.