Delaware Department of Transportation officials and Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) recently toured four parts of the state where flooding and rising sea-levels impact roads and bridges.
The tour was intended to highlight America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act, a bipartisan $287 billion surface transportation infrastructure reauthorization bill. Carper co-authored the bill.
The bill would invest nearly $5 billion over five years to improve the resiliency of roads and bridges from natural disasters and extreme weather events. The federal government would make $1 billion available in PROTECT Grants Program grants while the remainder would be distributed to states.
Resilience would be accomplished through the use of natural infrastructures, such as marshes and wetlands.
Another $3 billion over the next five years would be used to lower carbon emissions. Funds would be distributed to states and cities for projects. Cities and states also would have the opportunity to compete for $500 million in performance awards.
The bill provides $1 billion in competitive grants over the next five years for building electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including hydrogen and natural gas fueling infrastructure along specific highway corridors.
The bill invests $370 million to advance projects such as port electrification as ports are a significant source of carbon emissions.