FY24-FY26 PROTECT NOFO-FHWA-PROT-26-001.pdf

Fiscal Years 2024 through 2026

Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving

Transportation Competitive Grant Program

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Application Opening Date: 08/27/2026

Application Closing Date: 10/09/2026

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Highway Administration

Fiscal Years 2024 through 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity

Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving

Transportation Competitive Grant Program

Table of Contents

A. BASIC INFORMATION

B. ELIGIBILITY

C. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

D. APPLICATION CONTENTS AND FORMAT

E. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND DEADLINE

F. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

G. AWARD NOTICES

H. POST-AWARD REQUIREMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION

A. BASIC INFORMATION

The applicant should read this notice in its entirety for the information necessary to submit eligible and competitive applications.

Federal Agency Name

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

Funding Opportunity Title Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) Competitive

Grant Program

Announcement Type This is a new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

Funding Opportunity

Number

FHWA-PROT-26-001

Assistance Listing Number(s) 20.284

Funding Details

This opportunity will result in the distribution of up to $787 million in Fiscal Years (FYs) 2024 through 2026 funding. Of this amount, up to $79 million is available for Planning Grants;

up to $551 million is available for Resilience Improvement

Grants; up to $79 million is available for Community

Resilience and Evacuation Route Grants; and up to $79 million is available for At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants. FHWA may elect to also distribute any remaining and available prior

FY PROTECT Competitive Grant Program funds in awards under this funding opportunity. See Section C.3 for information on statutory set-asides.

FHWA may elect to utilize funds from this NOFO for projects selected to receive an award under the previous PROTECT

Competitive Grant Program NOFO. In this instance, previous awardees would not have to re-apply.

There is no minimum or maximum award size.

Key Dates

Application Due Date: 10/09/2026 at 11:59:59 PM ET.

DOT anticipates announcing awards under this NOFO the week of December 07, 2026.

Executive Summary

The PROTECT Competitive Grant Program provides funding to plan for and 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 temperatures, and earthquakes.

The PROTECT Competitive Grant Program has the following categories of funding:

• Planning Grants (Title 23 United States Code (U.S.C.)

§ 176(d)(3)).

• Resilience Grants, including:

o Resilience Improvement Grants (23 U.S.C.

§ 176(d)(4)(A)).

o Community Resilience and Evacuation Route

Grants (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(B)).

o At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants (23

U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(C)).

Eligible applicants for the PROTECT Competitive Grant

Program funding are States, metropolitan planning organizations (MPO), local governments, federally recognized

Indian Tribes, public transportation agencies, port authorities, and Federal Land Managing Agencies (FLMA) when applying jointly with a State or group of States. Specific to At-Risk

Coastal Infrastructure Grants, eligibility also includes U.S.

territories, plus the same entities eligible for the broader program, but limited to coastal States and other specified entities within such States (see 23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(C)(i)).

See Section B for more details.

The PROTECT Competitive Grant Program requires a minimum non-Federal cost-share of 20 percent except for:

federally recognized Indian Tribes who may request zero cost-share; Planning Grants, which do not require a cost-share;

projects in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, which do not require a cost-share (23 U.S.C. § 120(g)); and projects covered by an applicable Resilience Improvement Plan (RIP), which could reduce the required minimum cost-share to 17 percent, 13 percent, or 10 percent (see Section B). Where required, applicants who do not provide the minimum non-

Federal cost-share will be classified as ineligible. For additional information on RIPs, please refer to Section B and

23 U.S.C. § 176(e).

Agency Contact Information

Federal Highway Administration

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.

Washington, D.C. 20590

Email: PROTECTcompetitive@dot.gov

Changes from Prior NOFO • Removed references to rescinded Executive Orders

(E.O.).

• Aligned the NOFO with new E.O.s.

• Updated application evaluation criteria.

• Simplified and aligned with 2 Code of Federal

Regulation (CFR) 200 criteria.

• Changed the NOFO to one application period for FYs

2024, 2025, and 2026 funding.

• Added a required Application Template.

Applicants who applied for funding under the previous FYs

2024 through 2026 PROTECT Competitive Grant Program

NOFO published in October 2024 must re-apply using the relevant NOFO Application Template associated with this

NOFO to be considered for funding. Awards will not be made under the previous FYs 2024 through 2026 PROTECT

Competitive Grant Program NOFO.

mailto:PROTECTcompetitive@dot.gov

B. `ELIGIBILITY

1. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

See Section A for a summary of eligible entities, which are shown in more detail below:

Planning, Resilience Improvement, and

Community Resilience and Evacuation

Route Grants

At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants

1. A State or political subdivision of a

State. (State includes the District of

Columbia and Puerto Rico).

2. An MPO.

3. A unit of local government.

4. A special purpose district or public authority with a transportation function, including a port authority.1

5. A federally recognized Indian Tribe (as defined in 23 U.S.C. § 207(m)(1)).

6. A FLMA that applies jointly with a State or group of States.

7. A multi-State or multijurisdictional group of entities described in (1) through (6) above.

1. A coastal State (i.e., a State, the U.S. Virgin

Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands) that is in or bordering on the

Atlantic, Pacific or Arctic Oceans or the

Gulf of America2, or a coastal State that is in or bordering on the Long Island Sound or one or more of the Great Lakes.

Also, within a coastal State as described above:

2. A political subdivision of a State.

3. An MPO.

4. A unit of local government.

5. A special purpose district or public authority with a transportation function, including a port authority.

6. A federally recognized Indian Tribe.

7. A FLMA that applies jointly with an eligible State or group of States.

8. A multi-State or multijurisdictional group of entities described in (1) through (7) above.

Multiple eligible entities who submit a joint application should identify a lead applicant as the primary point of contact (POC) and recipient for purposes of financial administration of the project. Joint applications should include a description of the roles and responsibilities of each applicant and should be signed by each applicant.

2. ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS ON ELIGIBILITY

Eligible Activities

1A “public authority” means a Federal, State, county, town, or township, federally recognized Indian Tribe, municipal, or other local government or instrumentality with authority to finance, build, operate, or maintain toll or toll-free facilities (23 U.S.C. 101(a)(22)). If a special purpose district applies for a PROTECT Competitive Grant, it should include appropriate documentation that it was established in accordance with applicable State law.

2 Title 23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(C)(i)(I) and E.O.14172.

Eligible activities are different for each of the four types of grants under the PROTECT

Competitive Grant Program. The table below provides PROTECT Competitive Grant Program eligible activities:

Grant Type Eligible Activities

Planning

1. The development of a RIP under 23 U.S.C. § 176(e)(2) by a State or

MPO;

2. Resilience planning, predesign, design, or the development of data tools to simulate transportation disruption scenarios, including vulnerability assessments;

3. Technical capacity building by the eligible entity to facilitate the ability of the eligible entity to assess the vulnerabilities of the surface transportation assets and community response strategies of the eligible entity under current conditions and a range of potential future conditions; or

4. Evacuation planning and preparation.

Resilience

Improvement

The project must include one or more construction activities to improve the ability of an existing surface transportation asset to withstand one or more elements of a weather event or natural disaster, or to 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 including:

1. Resurfacing, restoration, rehabilitation, reconstruction, replacement, improvement, or realignment of an existing surface transportation facility eligible for assistance under Title 23;

2. The incorporation of natural infrastructure;

3. The upgrade of an existing surface transportation facility to meet or exceed a design standard adopted by FHWA;

4. The installation of mitigation measures to prevent the intrusion of floodwaters into surface transportation systems;

5. Strengthening systems to remove rainwater from surface transportation facilities;

6. Upgrades to and installation of structural stormwater controls;

7. A resilience project that addresses identified vulnerabilities described in the RIP of the eligible entity, if applicable;

8. Relocating roadways in a base floodplain to higher ground above projected flood elevation levels, or away from slide prone areas;

9. Stabilizing slide areas or slopes;

10. Installing riprap;

11. Lengthening or raising bridges to increase waterway openings, including responding to extreme weather;

12. Increasing the size or number of drainage structures;

13. Installing seismic retrofits on bridges;

14. Adding scour protection at bridges;

15. Adding scour, stream stability, coastal, and other hydraulic countermeasures, including spur dikes;

16. Vegetation management practices in transportation rights-of-way to improve roadway safety, prevent against invasive species, facilitate wildfire control, and provide erosion control; and

17. Any other protective features, including natural infrastructure, as determined by the Secretary.

Community

Resilience and

Evacuation

Route

One or more projects that strengthen and protect evacuation routes essential for supporting emergency evacuations during emergency events, including projects:

1. Eligible as resilience improvements (see 23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(A)(ii)) if the activity improves an evacuation route;

2. Ensuring the ability of an evacuation route to provide safe passage during an evacuation and reducing the risk of damage to evacuation routes as a result of future emergency events, including restoring or replacing existing evacuation routes that are in poor condition or not designed to meet the anticipated demand during an emergency event.

This can include steps to protect routes from mud, rock, or other debris slides;

3. Where the eligible entity notifies3 the Secretary that existing evacuation routes are not sufficient to adequately facilitate evacuations, including the transportation of emergency responders and recovery resources, expands the capacity of evacuation routes to swiftly and safely accommodate evacuations, including installation of:

(a) Communications and intelligent transportation system equipment and infrastructure;

(b) Counterflow measures; or

(c) Shoulders;

4. To construct new or redundant evacuation routes, if the eligible entity notifies the Secretary that existing evacuation routes are not sufficient to adequately facilitate evacuations, including the transportation of emergency responders and recovery resources;

5. For the acquisition of evacuation route or traffic incident management equipment or signage; or,

6. That ensures access or service to critical destinations, including hospitals and other medical or emergency service facilities, major employers, critical manufacturing centers, ports and intermodal facilities, utilities, and Federal facilities.

3 Data-driven evidence should be included with the application to explain why the existing route is not sufficiently adequate and how capacity expansion of the evacuation route will swiftly and safely accommodate evacuations.

At-Risk

Coastal

Infrastructure

Projects that 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.

The Secretary shall provide At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants for projects that address the risks from a current or future weather event or natural disaster including coastal flooding, coastal erosion, wave action, storm surge, or sea level change; and that reduce long-term infrastructure costs by avoiding larger future maintenance or rebuilding costs (23 U.S.C.

§ 176(d)(4)(C)(iv)).

FHWA will determine whether an application for an At-Risk Coastal

Infrastructure Grant meets these requirements through merit criteria (see

Section F) and by evaluating information provided in the Application

Template.

Eligible Facilities

A PROTECT Competitive Grant may be awarded only for the following facilities:

• A highway4 project eligible for assistance under Title 23;

• A public transportation facility or service eligible for assistance under Chapter 53 of Title

49;

• A facility or service for intercity rail passenger transportation (as defined in Section

24102 of Title 49); or

• A port facility, including a facility that:

o Connects a port to other modes of transportation;

o Improves the efficiency of evacuations and disaster relief; or o Aids transportation. (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(C)).

Statutory Requirements for Projects in Floodplains

If a PROTECT Competitive Grant Program project is proposed to be carried out, in whole or in part, within a base floodplain, under 23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(B)(ii) the application must include the following:

4 The term “highway” includes a road, street, and parkway; a right-of-way, bridge, railroad-highway crossing, tunnel, drainage structure including public roads on dams, sign, guardrail, and protective structure, in connection with a highway; and a portion of any interstate or international bridge or tunnel and the approaches thereto, the cost of which is assumed by a State transportation department, including such facilities as may be required by the U.S.

Customs and Immigration Services in connection with the operation of an international bridge or tunnel. 23 U.S.C.

§ 101(a)(11).

https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=23-USC-915501581-293024776&term_occur=999&term_src= https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=23-USC-915501581-293024776&term_occur=999&term_src= https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=23-USC-1138305417-293024743&term_occur=999&term_src=title:23:chapter:1:section:101 https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=23-USC-915501581-293024776&term_occur=999&term_src=title:23:chapter:1:section:101 https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=23-USC-1526040471-293024714&term_occur=999&term_src=

• Identification of the floodplain in which the project is to be located and disclose that information in the application; and

• Indication, whether, if selected, the eligible entity will implement one or more components of the risk mitigation plan under Section 322 of the Robert T. Stafford

Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act5 (42 U.S.C. § 5165) with respect to the area.

System Resilience

A PROTECT Competitive Grant may include the use of natural infrastructure or the construction or modification of storm surge, flood protection, or aquatic ecosystem restoration elements functionally connected to a transportation improvement, such as:

• Increasing marsh health and total area adjacent to a highway right-of-way to promote additional flood storage;

• Upgrades to and installing of culverts designed to withstand 100-year flood events;

• Upgrades to and installation of tide gates to protect highways; and

• Upgrades to and installation of flood gates to protect tunnel entrances. (23 U.S.C.

§ 176(d)(5)(D)).

Eligible Project Costs

PROTECT Competitive Grant Program funds may only be used for activities which are primarily for the purpose of resilience or inherently resilience related. As such, only the cost associated with making assets more resilient are eligible for funding under the PROTECT

Competitive Grant Program. However, to the extent that the primary purpose of a project is to address resilience, the project may be eligible for full funding (up to the applicable Federal share). (For more information, see PROTECT Competitive Grant Program Website, available at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/protect/competitive).

Eligible project costs are different for Planning Grants versus Resilience Grants.

• For Planning Grants, development phase activities, including planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental review, preliminary engineering and design work, other preconstruction activities, and other activities consistent with carrying out an

5 https://www.fema.gov/disaster/stafford-act.

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/protect/competitive https://www.fema.gov/disaster/stafford-act eligible PROTECT Competitive Grant Program Planning project are eligible

(23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(F)(ii)).

• For Resilience Grants, the following are eligible:

o Development phase activities, including planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental review, preliminary engineering and design work, and other preconstruction activities; and o Construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of real property

(including land related to the project and improvements to land), environmental mitigation, construction contingencies, acquisition of equipment directly related to improving system performance, and operational improvements (23 U.S.C.

§ 176(d)(5)(F)(i)).

Limitations on Awards

• There are no award limitations for Planning Grants.

• For Resilience Grants, awards are limited as follows:

o New Construction. No more than 40 percent of the amount of a PROTECT

Competitive Grant Program Resilience Grant may fund construction of new capacity

(23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(G)(i)(I)); and o Planning Activities. No more than 10 percent of the amount of a PROTECT

Competitive Grant Program Resilience Grant may fund eligible development phase activities, including planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental review, preliminary engineering and design work, and other preconstruction activities described under 23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(F)(i)(I) (23 U.S.C.

§ 176(d)(5)(G)(i)(II)).

3. COST SHARING

Cost Share

Grant Type Federal Share

Planning grants

23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(E)(i)

The Federal share of an eligible planning activity shall be 100 percent.

Resilience Grants:

• Resilience Improvement

23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(E)(ii)(I)

• Community Resilience and

Evacuation Route

23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(E)(ii)(II)

• At-Risk Coastal

Infrastructure

23 U.S.C. § 120(g)

Shall not exceed 80 percent of the total cost of the project.*

For federally recognized Indian Tribes, the Federal share of an eligible project may be up to 100 percent.**

For projects carried out in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the

Northern Mariana Islands, the Federal share of an eligible project shall be 100 percent.

* See Calculating Cost Share with a RIP below for projects in States and MPOs that have a RIP.

** Federally recognized Indian Tribes must specify in their application the Federal share amount requested for the proposed project.

Where required, applicants who do not provide the minimum non-Federal cost-share will be ineligible for award.

Calculating Cost Share with a RIP

The non-Federal share of the cost of a project carried out using PROTECT Competitive Grant

Program funds may be reduced as described below. The non-Federal share has a maximum reduction of 10 percent under 23 U.S.C. § 176(e)(1)(B)(iii)(I).6

Non-Federal share

Reduced if Qualifiers

Reduced by 7 percent if:

The State or MPO has developed an eligible RIP and prioritized the project on that RIP (23 U.S.C.

§ 176(e)(1)(B)(i));

The project must be included in a RIP before the NOFO application deadline.

The RIP must comply with 23 U.S.C.

§ 176(e) and must be provided with the grant application.

Reduced by 3 percent if:

A State or MPO RIP developed in accordance with Section 176(e) is incorporated (directly or by reference) into the metropolitan transportation plan under 23

U.S.C. § 134 or the statewide long-range transportation plan under 23 U.S.C. § 135, as applicable. (23 U.S.C. §

176(e)(1)(B)(ii)).

RIP must be incorporated in a metropolitan transportation plan or statewide long-range transportation plan before the NOFO application deadline.

RIP must comply with 23 U.S.C.

§ 176(e) and must be provided with the grant application.

(For more information, see RIP Website at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/protect/rip/.)

Determining Cost Share

Non-Federal sources of income include State funds originating from programs funded by State revenue or local revenue funding programs, or private funds. Per 23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(E)(iii), Federal funds other than PROTECT Competitive Grant Program funds may be used to meet the non-Federal cost share for PROTECT Competitive Grant Program projects provided the requirements of those funds are met. All cost-share funds used are subject to the same Federal requirements as PROTECT Competitive Grant Program funds described in Section H. Unless otherwise authorized by statute, the cost-share may not be counted as non-Federal share for both

6 A reduction of the non-Federal share under Title 23 U.S.C. § 176(e)(1)(B) shall not reduce the non-Federal share of the costs of a PROTECT Competitive Grant Program Resilience Grant funded project to an amount that is less than zero. (23 U.S.C. § 176(e)(1)(E)(B)(iii)(II)).

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/protect/rip/ a PROTECT Competitive Grant Program project and another Federal program. FHWA will not consider previously incurred costs, or previously expended or encumbered funds, toward the matching requirements for any project. (For more information on non-Federal matching requirements see: https://www.transportation.gov/grants/dot-navigator/understanding-non-federal-match-requirements)

4. OTHER

Applications determined to be late, duplicates of applications submitted for the same round of applications, or incomplete will be disqualified.

Applicants are advised that FHWA will continue to screen projects for eligibility throughout the application review process described in Section F.

If a non-State Department of Transportation (State DOT) applicant will use Federal-aid formula funds apportioned to a State DOT as part of the total project budget, the application must also include a supporting letter from the State DOT agreeing to administer the project with the non-

State DOT applicant serving as the sub-recipient.

5. APPLICATION LIMIT

There are no limitations on the number of applications an applicant may submit, but only one application may be submitted per project. If submitting more than one application, indicate the funding priority of each application on the application cover page. FHWA is not required to consider the applicant’s funding priority when making selections.

Each application may contain a project eligible for more than one PROTECT Competitive Grant category. Applicants must provide all required information for each category under which they are applying and must use the relevant Application Template for the type of grant. FHWA reserves the discretion to determine which funding category to award to a project, including a category for which the applicant did not apply.

C. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

1. PROGRAM PURPOSE

The purpose of the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program is to plan for and strengthen surface transportation to be 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. The PROTECT Competitive Grant Program funds Planning Grants to enable communities to assess infrastructure vulnerabilities to current and future weather events and natural disasters and changing conditions, including sea level rise, and plan transportation improvements and emergency response strategies to address those vulnerabilities. The program also funds construction projects under Resilience Improvement, Community Resilience and https://www.transportation.gov/grants/dot-navigator/understanding-non-federal-match-requirements https://www.transportation.gov/grants/dot-navigator/understanding-non-federal-match-requirements

Evacuation Route, and At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants, which are all considered

Resilience Grants.

2. PROGRAM GOALS AND ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES

The intent of the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program is to fund projects to improve the resilience of the surface transportation system, including highways, public transportation, ports, and intercity passenger rail. Program goals include protecting: surface transportation assets by making them more resilient; communities through resilience improvements and strategies that allow for the continued operation or rapid recovery of surface transportation systems; coastal infrastructure; and natural infrastructure that protects and enhances surface transportation assets.

The Department seeks to fund projects that advance the priorities of the Trump Administration as described in DOT’s mission statement and across E.O.s. The Department intends to apply principles from DOT Order 2100.7, (Ensuring Reliance Upon Sound Economic Analysis in

DOT’s Policies, Programs and Activities) when evaluating applications and making award selections. Such principles include utilizing sound economic principles and analysis supported by cost-benefit requirements and data-driven decisions and maximizing to the extent practicable, relevant, appropriate and consistent with law, benefits for families and communities. The

Department will seek to fund projects that improve resilience to natural hazards and reduce potential for damage to the transportation system in support of the Department’s focus on core infrastructure and projects that reinvest in the American family by preventing disruption to the traveling public and communities in vulnerable areas who rely on transportation connectivity.

Further, the Department will seek to award projects that demonstrate readiness and support economic prosperity in communities and will consider projects that support the program set asides for rural communities and federally recognized Indian Tribes. See Section D, Economic

Analysis, for Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) requirements. The merit criteria in Section F provide information on the consideration of the reinvesting in the American families, addressing core infrastructure, economic competitiveness and innovation administration priorities.

3. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION AND FUNDING

Section 11405 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law (Pub. L.) 117-58, Nov.

15, 2021), established the PROTECT Formula Program and Competitive Grant Programs, which are codified at 23 U.S.C. § 176.

This NOFO provides PROTECT Competitive Grant Program funding of up to $787 million from

FYs 2024 through 2026, plus any remaining PROTECT Competitive Grant Program funding from prior years. Different funding amounts are available for each of the four funding categories, as shown below.

Funding Category Approximate Funding Available FYs 2024 through 2026

Planning Grants Up to $79 million

Resilience Improvement Grants Up to $551 million https://www.transportation.gov/mission/ensuring-reliance-upon-sound-economic-analysis-department-transportation-policies-programs https://www.transportation.gov/mission/ensuring-reliance-upon-sound-economic-analysis-department-transportation-policies-programs

Community Resilience and

Evacuation Route Grants

Up to $79 million

At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants Up to $79 million

Each fiscal year of funding has a required funding obligation deadline7 as noted in the table below.

Fiscal Year Funding Funding Obligation Deadline

2024 September 30, 2027

2025 September 30, 2028

2026 September 30, 2029

The total period of performance for the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program awards are anticipated to be between 1 and 4 years.

This NOFO is subject to the availability of funding. The Government’s obligation under any resulting award is contingent upon the availability of funding. There is no legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment that may arise until funds are available and obligated to an award. FHWA is not obligated to make any award as a result of this notice.

Statutory Funding Provisions

• Rural8 Set-Aside: Not less than 25 percent of funding each fiscal year will be awarded to projects located outside an urban area with a population over 200,000 (23 U.S.C.

§ 176(d)(5)(H)(ii)). A project located in both an urban and a rural area will be designated as rural if the majority of the project’s footprint is in rural areas.

• Tribal Set-Aside: Not less than 2 percent of funding from each fiscal year will be awarded for grants to federally recognized Indian Tribes 9 (23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(H)(iii)).

• Unutilized Amounts: For any fiscal year, if the Secretary determines that the amount of the Rural Set-Aside or Tribal Set-Aside will not be fully utilized for PROTECT

Competitive Grant Program grants, the Secretary may reallocate the unutilized funds to provide grants to other PROTECT Competitive Grant Program eligible entities. (23

U.S.C. § 176(d)(5)(H)(iv)).

• Limitation on Intercity Rail Passenger Transportation: For each fiscal year, not more than

25 percent of the total amount provided will be used for a facility or service for intercity rail passenger transportation (as defined in 49 U.S.C. § 24102). (23 U.S.C.

§ 176(d)(5)(G)(ii)).

7 Obligation for a PROTECT Competitive Grant Program award occurs when a selected recipient enters into a grant agreement with FHWA for eligible work that has met all applicable requirements for the obligation of funds.

8 For the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program, a project is designated as rural if it is located outside a Census-designated urban area that has a population greater than 200,000 in the 2020 Census.

9 As defined in 23 U.S.C. § 207(m)(1).

• Benefit-Cost: BCA is required for certain award prioritizations under this program. See

Section D for more information.

4. AWARD SIZE

There is no minimum or maximum award amount for PROTECT Competitive Grant awards.

While the Department reserves the right to make smaller or larger awards, based on the FY22-23

NOFO, the anticipated award range for Resilience Improvement, Community Resilience and

Evacuation Route Grants, and At-Risk Costal Infrastructure Grants, the anticipated award range is $500,000 to $60,000,000. For Planning Grants, the anticipated award range is $100,000 to

$10,000,000.

5. TYPE OF AWARD

The anticipated award(s) will be cost-reimbursable grant agreements.

6. PERFORMANCE GOALS

See Section H for details on performance reporting requirements and goals.

7. PREVIOUS AWARDS

Previous program awards can be seen on the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program Website:

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/protect/competitive.

8. BUY AMERICA REQUIREMENTS

Funds made available under this NOFO are subject to domestic preference requirements. See

Section H of this NOFO for additional details. Applicants can also refer to the FHWA

Construction Program Guide for more information about addressing FHWA’s Buy America requirements and Build America Buy America requirements.

D. APPLICATION CONTENTS AND FORMAT

1. APPLICATION FORMAT

All applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov.

Application files should be single-spaced, 12-point standard font (e.g., Times New Roman), with

1-inch margins. The project narrative should not exceed 25 pages in length. Files should be in

PDF unless otherwise specified (e.g., Excel based forms and location files such as Shapefile or

KML/KMZ).

FHWA recommends applicants use a file naming format of: “[Applicant organization#]-2026-

PROTECT” where “Applicant organization” reflects the applicant’s legal name, abbreviated as https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/protect/competitive https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/cqit/buyam.cfm https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/cqit/buyam.cfm file:///C:/Users/ashley.mcdade/Downloads/grants.gov appropriate, and where “#” represents the order of applicant priority for the grant, if more than one application is submitted. If necessary, the workspace title can be edited per the instructions on Grants.gov.

The application package must consist of the following in this order.

All Project Types Non-Construction

Projects-Only

Construction Projects-

Only

Standard Form (SF) 424 (Application for Federal Assistance)

SF-424A (Budget

Information for Non-

Construction Projects)

SF-424C (Budget

Information for

Construction Projects)

Grants.gov Lobbying Form

(Certification Regarding Lobbying)

SF-424B (Assurances for

Non-Construction

Programs)

SF-424D (Assurances for

Construction Programs)

SF-LLL (Disclosure of Lobbying

Activities form)

PROTECT Planning Grant or

Resilience Grant Application

Template

(see Section D.2 PROTECT

Competitive Grant Program

Application Templates) must be added as an attachment to item 15 of the SF-

424.

2. APPLICATION CONTENT

Standard Forms

All mandatory SF of the 424 family are available for download at https://www.grants.gov/forms/forms-repository/sf-424-mandatory-family.

For more information on SF, please see: https://highways.dot.gov/resources/competitive-grants/standard-forms-1.

PROTECT Competitive Grant Program Application Templates

Applicants must complete one of the PROTECT Competitive Grant Program Application

Templates (either the Planning Grant Template or Resilience Grant Template) and include it as an attachment to Item 15 of their SF-424. The Application Template should provide all information necessary for FHWA to determine that the project satisfies the eligibility requirements described in Section B and to evaluate the criteria specified in Section F.

FHWA will only review the completed Application Template and the allowable supplemental documents (e.g., budget, schedule, design plans, etc.) specified within the Application Template instructions.

file:///C:/Users/ashley.mcdade/Downloads/Grants.gov https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_Mandatory_3_0-V3.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424A-V1.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424C_2_0-V2.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/GG_LobbyingForm-V1.1.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/Individual_SF424B-V1.1.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/Individual_SF424D-V1.1.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SFLLL_2_0-V2.0.pdf https://www.grants.gov/forms/forms-repository/sf-424-mandatory-family https://acquia-stage-fhwa.dot.gov/resources/competitive-grants/standard-forms https://acquia-stage-fhwa.dot.gov/resources/competitive-grants/standard-forms

The application must provide a budget for the project, either within the Application Template itself, or as an attachment. The budget must list the amount and percentage of both the Federal funding requested and any additional non-Federal funds, if any, to be used to pay for the project.

The Application Template can be found on Grants.gov.

Economic Analysis

This section outlines the requirements and recommended approaches for conducting a BCA for purposes of project prioritization and other required cost information for the PROTECT

Competitive Grant Program.

Economic Analysis Requirements

PROTECT Competitive Grant

Program Funding Category

Requirements Purpose

Planning Grant

23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(3)

BCA NOT required. N/A

Resilience Improvement Grant

23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(A)(iii)

BCA required unless the project is in a qualifying RIP (23 U.S.C. § 176(e)(2)).

Project

Prioritization

Community Resilience and

Evacuation Route Grant

23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(B)(iii)

BCA required. Project

Prioritization

At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure

Grant

23 U.S.C. § 176(d)(4)(C)(iv)

BCA not required, but the applicant must demonstrate that the project would reduce long-term infrastructure costs by avoiding larger future maintenance or rebuilding costs.

Project

Eligibility

The purpose of the BCA is to assess the project’s cost effectiveness by comparing its expected benefits to its expected costs, relative to a no-build scenario for the purpose of project prioritization. For projects requiring a BCA (see Economic Analysis Requirements table), the applicant must provide a standalone BCA memo document that describes the methods, assumptions, and inputs used in the analysis. Applicants must also provide all relevant files used for BCA, including any spreadsheet files (unlocked) and technical memos describing the analysis. The spreadsheets and technical memos must present the calculations in sufficient detail and transparency to allow the analysis to be reproduced by FHWA evaluators.

The BCA must carefully document the assumptions and methodology used to produce the analysis, including a description of the baseline, the sources of data used to project the outcomes of the project, and the values of key input parameters. The analysis should provide present value estimates of a project’s benefits and costs relative to a no-build baseline. To calculate present values, the applicant should apply a real discount rate specified in the DOT BCA Guidance (see https://www.transportation.gov/mission/office- secretary/office-policy/transportation-policy/benefit-cost-analysis-guidance) to the project’s streams of benefits and costs, which should be stated in constant-dollar terms. The scope of the project’s benefits must match the scope of its costs in BCA (i.e., a BCA should include the costs associated with all benefits, and vice versa).

http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.transportation.gov/mission/office-secretary/office-policy/transportation-policy/benefit-cost-analysis-guidance https://www.transportation.gov/mission/office-secretary/office-policy/transportation-policy/benefit-cost-analysis-guidance https://www.transportation.gov/mission/office-secretary/office-policy/transportation-policy/benefit-cost-analysis-guidance

The total cost used in BCA should include previously incurred costs and future costs associated with the project, rather than just costs reimbursable by the program.

Any benefits claimed for the project must be clearly tied to the expected outcomes of the project including resilience benefits such as damages avoided by the project. Projected benefits may accrue to both users of the facility and those who are affected by its use. Usage forecasts applied in estimating future benefits should account for any additional demand. While benefits should be quantified wherever possible, applicants are encouraged to describe other categories of benefits in BCA that are more difficult to quantify or value in economic terms (e.g., benefits associated with nature-based solutions or for documenting benefit of evacuation during emergency events).

The BCA must include the full cost (including those previously incurred) of developing, constructing, operating, and maintaining the proposed project compared to those costs for the existing facility, and the expected timing or schedule for costs in each of these categories. The

BCA should include the costs that may accrue to those affected by the proposed project’s construction or use. The BCA may also include the present discounted value of any remaining service life of the asset at the end of the analysis period.

Detailed guidance from DOT on estimating benefits and costs, together with recommended economic values for converting them to dollar terms and discounting to their present values, is available on the DOT Website (see https://www.transportation.gov/mission/office-secretary/office-policy/transportation-policy/benefit-cost-analysis-guidance). Visit https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/protect/resources for additional BCA resources including, Best Practices for Resilience Investment Benefit-Cost Analysis.

Applications for At-Risk Coastal Infrastructure Grants must demonstrate that the project will reduce long-term infrastructure costs by avoiding larger future maintenance or rebuilding costs.

See the Resilience Grant Application Template for information on required documentation.

Economic Analysis Flexibility for Federally Recognized Indian Tribes

FHWA is providing additional flexibility to federally recognized Indian Tribes regarding the information required in BCA. A federally recognized Indian Tribe may elect to provide raw data with its application to support the need for a project, without additional analysis. The applicant must provide clear identification of the problem to be solved by the project (asset risk), estimate the costs of the proposed project, current and projected future asset use (e.g., vehicle miles traveled, ridership, freight movement), and projection of the expected impacts of the project. An important benefit of projects which improve the resilience of existing transportation assets is travel time savings, for example from avoiding or reducing the amount of time an asset is closed.

For such projects, applicants must provide information that will enable FHWA to calculate travel time savings from a project. Such information must include the average amount of additional travel time from using the next best highway route. FHWA will use this data to develop estimates (given the data provided) of benefits and costs.

3. SHARING OF APPLICATION INFORMATION

https://www.transportation.gov/mission/office-secretary/office-policy/transportation-policy/benefit-cost-analysis-guidance https://www.transportation.gov/mission/office-secretary/office-policy/transportation-policy/benefit-cost-analysis-guidance https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/protect/resources

DOT may share application information within DOT or with other Federal Agencies if DOT determines that such sharing is relevant to the respective program’s goals.

For information on confidential business information please see:

https://highways.dot.gov/resources/competitive-grants/sharing-application-information-0.

E. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND DEADLINE

1. ADDRESS TO REQUEST APPLICATION PACKAGE

All application materials may be found on Grants.gov.

Once at Grants.gov, select the Search Grants tab. Then enter one of the following:

• Opportunity Number: FHWA-PROT-26-001; or

• Opportunity Name: Fiscal Years 2024 through 2026 Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Program

• Assistance Listing Number: 20.284–Promoting Resilient Operations for

Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT)

Select the grant entry. This will open the grant opportunity Webpage. This Webpage has details about the grant and a link to the application. Click the “View on Grants.gov” button. This will open the grant opportunity on the Grants.gov Website. The first tab is a synopsis of the opportunity. There is also a “Package” tab which contains the application package. Select the

“Package” tab to download the forms needed to submit a FYs 2024 through 2026 PROTECT

Competitive Grant Program application. The applicant must complete and submit all forms included in the application package for this notice, as contained at Grants.gov.

If potential applicants are unable to download the application package from the internet, they may send a written request for a paper copy to the below address. Requests should be sent to:

Mailing Address:

Federal Highway Administration

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.

Washington, D.C. 20590

Telephone Device for the Deaf : Please call (202) 366-3993.

Email: PROTECTcompetitive@dot.gov

Office hours are from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, EST, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

https://highways.dot.gov/resources/competitive-grants/sharing-application-information-0 file:///C:/Users/ashley.mcdade/Downloads/grants.gov http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ mailto:PROTECTcompetitive@dot.gov

2. UNIQUE ENTITY IDENTIFIER AND SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT

Each applicant must:

• Be registered in System for Award Management (SAM) at SAM.gov before submitting its application;

• Provide a valid Unique Entity Identifier in its application; and

• Continue to maintain an active registration in SAM.gov with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application under consideration by a Federal Agency.

Please note the SAM registration process takes several weeks to complete.

3. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

All applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov. The Department does not accept applications via mail, fax machine, email, or other means. Additional resources on applying through Grants.gov can be found at https://www.grants.gov/applicants.

4. SUBMISSION DEADLINES

FYs 2024 through 2026 PROTECT Competitive Grant Program applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59 PM EST on October 09, 2026. Grants.gov attaches a time stamp to each application at the time submission is complete.

5. CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS

Only applicants who comply with all submission deadlines described in this notice and electronically submit valid, on-time applications through Grants.gov will be eligible for evaluation and possible selection for award.

To the extent practicable, applicants should provide supporting data and documentation in a form directly verifiable by DOT. DOT may, but is not required to, reach back to applicants for the purpose of clarifying application information. DOT will not request additional information to perfect incomplete applications.

To the extent practicable, applicants should provide supporting data and documentation in a form that is directly verifiable by FHWA. FHWA may, but is not required to, request additional information, including additional data to clarify supporting documentation submitted in an application. To ensure a fair and unbiased evaluation of applications submitted under this notice, FHWA will not request additional information to perfect incomplete applications.

6. SUBMISSION ISSUES For information on submission issues and more information on late applications, please see: Submission Issues | FHWA.

7. INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW

https://sam.gov/content/home https://sam.gov/content/home https://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/applicants https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://highways.dot.gov/resources/competitive-grants/submission-issues-0

This program is not subject to E.O. 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.

F. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

1. MERIT CRITERIA

FHWA will evaluate applications submitted in response to this notice using the following merit criteria:

• For Planning Grants, the merit criteria are program alignment, planning activity approach, and innovation.

• For Resilience Grants, the merit criteria are vulnerability and risk, criticality to community, design elements, and innovation.

The ratings for each merit criteria will be assigned a label of Highly Responsive, Responsive, and Non-Responsive. These will be used at the conclusion of the merit criteria evaluation to assign the application an overall merit criteria rating.

a. Planning Grants

FHWA will assess Planning Grant applications using the following merit criteria.

Criterion #1: Program Alignment

FHWA will evaluate the extent to which the proposed Planning Grant activity aligns with the purpose of PROTECT Competitive Grant Program as described in 23 U.S.C 176(d)(3). FHWA will rate this criterion as described in the table, below:

Planning Criterion 1

Program Alignment

Objectives:

A. The planning project would enable communities to assess vulnerabilities in current and future weather events and natural disasters and changing conditions.

B. The planning project would enable communities to plan transportation improvements and emergency response strategies to address

Highly Responsive Responsive Non-Responsive

The application describes how the project will meet both objectives and provides qualitative or quantitative data or analysis to demonstrate how the project supports the objectives.

The application describes how the project will meet at least one objective.

The application does not describe how the project will meet at least one objective.

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title23-section176&num=0&edition=prelim transportation vulnerabilities.

Criterion #2: Planning Activity Approach

FHWA will evaluate the planning activity approach outlined in the application against the criterion elements described below.

Planning Criterion 2

Planning Activity Approach

A. For States or MPOs developing a

RIP, the application provides information about how the resulting plan will address the…