Maryland receives two grants through FHWA’s Climate Challenge

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The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently awarded the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) two grants through the agency’s Climate Challenge.

Climate Challenge is an initiative researching how sustainable materials and practices could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in highway projects.

“MDOT is taking a comprehensive approach across all our agencies to respond to climate change and Maryland’s greenhouse gas reduction targets,” Sandy Hertz, MDOT Office of Climate Change Resilience and Adaptation director, said. “Projects like these can benefit us and help us share knowledge and experiences that can be used throughout the region and across the country.”

The MDOT Maryland Port Administration received $244,000 to study how dredged material could be used to create vegetated earth berms to help control erosion. The $305,000 project will help the department determine the benefits of using dredged sediment for flood control and stormwater management. The administration routinely removes sediment from shipping channels to keep the channels clear for marine vessels and to restore islands and protect shorelines from erosion.

The MDOT State Highway Administration received $68,000 to investigate the service life and environmental performance of products and materials used in highway projects. The $85,000 project will help the administration set environmental performance measures. It also potentially could help establish benchmarks in other states.