Grants / Department of Transportation / DOT Federal Highway Administration

693JJ323NF00013: Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Program

Closed Closed August 18, 2023 Opportunity 693JJ323NF00013 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of DOT Federal Highway Administration notices from 2023.

• Award floor$100,000
• Total funding$848 million
• Cost sharingRequired
• Funding typeGrant

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

The PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program provides broad applicant eligibility for all levels of government to be direct recipients of funds. States, MPOs, local governments, and Indian Tribes can apply directly to FHWA. A Federal land management agency may be eligible if the agency applies jointly with a State or group of States. (See Section C for a complete list of eligible entities). FHWA encourages all eligible entities regardless of size, location, and experience administering Federal funding awards to apply for Federal assistance for Planning Grants and Resilience Grants under this NOFO.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Most of the program's money (99% over five years) went to state and local governments.
• The notice requires cost sharing or matching funds, so you must contribute part of the project cost.

What the grant funds

Section 11405 of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), enacted as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Pub. L. 117-58, Nov. 15, 2021), established the PROTECT Formula and Discretionary Grant programs, which are codified at 23 U.S.C. § 176. The purpose of the PROTECT Formula and Discretionary Grant programs is to plan for and strengthen surface transportation to be more resilient to natural hazards, including climate change, sea level rise, flooding, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters through formula and competitive discretionary grants. FHWA issued guidance for the formula portion of PROTECT in July 2022. This NOFO is for the discretionary portion of PROTECT. It will result in the distribution of up to $848 million for the PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program through a competitive discretionary grant process.[1] FHWA intends to hold future solicitations for funding available in FY 2024-2026. The vision of the PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program is to fund projects that address the climate crisis by improving the resilience of the surface transportation system, including highways, public transportation, ports, and intercity passenger rail. Projects selected under this program should be grounded in the best available scientific understanding of climate change risks, impacts, and vulnerabilities. They should support the continued operation or rapid recovery of crucial local, regional, or national surface transportation facilities. Furthermore, selected projects should utilize innovative and collaborative approaches to risk reduction, including the use of natural infrastructure, which is explicitly eligible under the program. Also called nature-based solutions, these strategies include conservation, restoration, or construction of riparian and streambed treatments, marshes, wetlands, native vegetation, stormwater bioswales, breakwaters, reefs, dunes, and shade trees. They reduce flood risks, erosion, wave damage, and heat impacts while also creating habitat, filtering pollutants, and providing recreational benefits. Projects in the PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program have the potential to demonstrate innovation and best practices that State and local governments in other parts of the country can consider replicating.

Category: Transportation.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Agencies often post the same opportunity again under a new number, so check the program's notices on Grants.gov and the similar open grants below.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.