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Padilla announces more than $631 million for climate-resilient transportation infrastructure
COURTESY PHOTOU.S. Sen. Alex Padilla
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., announced this week that California will receive $631,410,543 over the next five years through the new Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient and Cost-Saving Transportation formula program.
According to the senator’s office, this funding from the Federal Highway Administration will help states and communities better prepare for and respond to extreme weather events such as wildfires, flooding and extreme heat. This funding is made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Sen. Padilla voted for and President Joe Biden signed into law last year. Sen.Padilla authored an amendment included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to ensure that vegetation management along roadways, considered a critical activity to help prevent wildfires in California, is eligible under the PROTECT Program.
“As California experiences destructive wildfires and other natural disasters, climate resilient infrastructure can be the difference between life and death,” Sen. Padilla said in a news release. “With more than $630 million coming to California over the next five years, communities can make major investments in transportation infrastructure to create faster evacuation routes and improve emergency response.”
For more information about the new PROTECT Formula Program, see www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/sustainability/resilience/policy_and_guidance/protect_formula.pdf and the fact .fhwa.dot.gov/bipartisan-infrastructure-law/protect_fact_sheet.cfm.
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
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