PROTECT - Environment - FHWA
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PROTECT Formula Program
PROTECT Competitive Grant Program
PROTECT Resources
Resilience Improvement Plans
Contacts
For more information, please contact:
Becky Lupes
Elizabeth Habic
Emily Cline
Katy Maher
FHWA
Environment
PROTECT Program Information
PROTECT Formula Program
PROTECT Competitive Grant Program
Resilience Improvement Plans
PROTECT Resources
For Questions Please Contact
PROTECTformula@dot.gov
or
PROTECTcompetitive@dot.gov
PROTECT
Program Overview
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) established the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Program to help make surface transportation more resilient to current and future weather events, natural disasters, and changing conditions, such as severe storms, flooding, drought, levee and dam failures, wildfire, rockslides, mudslides, sea level rise, extreme weather, including extreme temperature, and earthquakes through support of planning activities, resilience improvements, community resilience and evacuation routes, and at-risk costal infrastructure.
The PROTECT Program consists of:
The
PROTECT Formula Program
, which provides $7.3 billion over five years (FY22 – FY26) in formula funding distributed directly to State departments of transportation (DOTs).
The
PROTECT Competitive Grant Program
, which provides $1.4 billion in contract authority over five years (FY22 – FY26) through competitive grants to State DOTs, metropolitan planning organizations, local governments, Indian tribes, Territories (At-Risk Coastal activities) and other eligible entities.
Eligible Activities
There are four categories of activities eligible for funding under the PROTECT Program: Planning, Resilience Improvements, Community Resilience and Evacuation Routes, and At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure.
Planning (23 U.S.C. § 176(c)(2) and 176(d)(3)):
In case of a State or metropolitan planning organization (MPO), development of a
Resilience Improvement Plan
Resilience planning, predesign, design, or the development of data tools to simulate transportation disruption scenarios, including vulnerability assessments;
Technical capacity building to facilitate the ability of the eligible entity to assess the vulnerabilities of its surface transportation assets and community response strategies under current conditions and a range of potential future conditions; or
Evacuation planning and preparation.
Resilience Improvement (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(A)(ii)(I)):
Improve the ability of an existing surface transportation asset to withstand one or more elements of a weather event or natural disaster, or
Increase the resilience of surface transportation infrastructure from the impacts of changing conditions, such as sea level rise, flooding, wildfires, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters.
Community Resilience and Evacuation Routes (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(B)(ii)):
Activities that strengthen and protect evacuation routes that are essential for providing and supporting evacuations caused by emergency events, including:
resilience improvements if they will improve evacuation routes, and
projects to ensure the ability of the evacuation route to provide safe passage during an evacuation and reduce the risk of damage to evacuation routes as a result of future emergency events.
At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure (23 U.S.C. 176(d)(4)(C)(iii)):
Activities to strengthen, stabilize, harden, elevate, relocate or otherwise enhance the resilience of highway and non-rail infrastructure, including: bridges, roads, pedestrian walkways, and bicycle lanes, and associated infrastructure, such as culverts and tide gates to protect highways that are subject to, or face increased long-term future risks of, a weather event, a natural disaster, or changing conditions, including coastal flooding, coastal erosion, wave action, storm surge, or sea level rise, in order to improve transportation and public safety and to reduce costs by avoiding larger future maintenance or rebuilding costs.
Resilience Improvement Plans
Resilience Improvement Plan
is a voluntary, risk-based assessment of vulnerable transportation assets in immediate and long-term transportation planning that demonstrates a systemic approach to surface transportation system resilience (23 U.S.C. 176(e)). A Resilience Improvement Plan can reduce Non-Federal match by up to 10% for both PROTECT Formula and Competitive Grant projects (23 U.S.C. 176(e)(1)(B)).
For more information, please visit FHWA’s
Resilience Improvement Plans
page.
PROTECT Resources
FHWA has compiled a list of resources that may be helpful for resilient project development:
PROTECT Resources List
PROTECT Program Questions and Answers:
Resilience Improvement Plans Questions and Answers
Other Funding Opportunities
While Congress created the PROTECT program to help make surface transportation more resilient to natural hazards, the FHWA recognizes that many other Federal grant programs may also be complimentary. For additional federal assistance, you may refer to other programs including, but not limited to the following:
FHWA's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
FHWA's Bridge Investment Program
FHWA's Culvert Removal, Replacement & Restoration Program
FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities
NOAA's Effects of Sea Level Rise Program
Updated: 2/18/2026
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