Overview

The PROTECT program includes up to $848 million in available funds for projects that address the climate crisis by improving the resilience of the surface transportation system. Selected projects should be grounded in the best available scientific understanding of climate change risks, impacts, and vulnerabilities; utilize innovative and collaborative approaches to risk reduction, including the use of natural infrastructure; and should have the potential to demonstrate innovation and best practices that State and local governments in other parts of the country can replicate. The PROTECT grant program includes the following four categories of eligible activities:

  1. Planning Grants:
    • Developing a Resilience Improvement Plan.
    • Resilience planning, predesign, design, or the development of data tools to simulate transportation disruption scenarios, including vulnerability assessments.
    • Evacuation planning and preparation.
  2. Resilience Improvement Grants:
    • Incorporation of natural infrastructure.
    • Installation of mitigation measures that prevent the intrusion of floodwaters into surface transportation systems.
    • Upgrades to and installation of structural stormwater controls.
    • Stabilizing slide areas or slopes.
    • Installing riprap.
  3. Community Resilience & Evacuation Route Grants
    • Projects that ensure evacuation route capability to provide safe passage during a disaster and reduce the risk of evacuation route damage resulting from future emergency events.
    • Expansion of evacuation route capacity to support evacuations swiftly and safely, including the installation of communication and intelligent transportation system.
    • Projects to ensure access or service to critical destinations, including hospitals and other medical or emergency service facilities.
  4. At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants
    • Strengthening, stabilizing, hardening, elevating, relocating, or otherwise enhancing the resilience of highway and non-rail infrastructure, including the following: 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.

FY 2023 NOFO Release Date: April 21, 2023

FY 2023 Submission Date: August 18, 2023

For additional detailed information, please see the FHWA PROTECT Webpage.

FY 2022 & 2023 PROTECT Grant Applications Submitted by MDT

Grant Application Name Project Type Grant Application Description Approx. Amount Requested
FY 2023 Applications
PROTECTing Montana’s Bridges Construction Replace 14 local scour-critical (water-induced erosion) bridges that are at risk from climate-related changes like severe flooding. The scour-critical bridges occur across 12 Montana counties. $23,500,000
FY 2022 Applications
No submittals.