Daily News Briefs, April 21, 2023

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FHWA Offers $848M In New Grants To Make Transportation Assets More Resilient

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced it is now accepting applications for the first round of discretionary grants to be awarded through the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Program. The IIJA-funded program supports “projects to make the country’s surface transportation system – including highways, public transportation, pedestrian facilities, ports, and intercity passenger rail – more resilient to the worsening impacts of climate change, while reducing long-term costs by minimizing demands for more expensive future maintenance and rebuilding.” FHWA said the discretionary grant program will fund innovative projects “to reduce damage and disruption to the transportation system and improve the safety of the traveling public. [It] will improve equity and further environmental justice by addressing the needs of disadvantaged communities that are often the most vulnerable to hazards. Grant applicants at all levels of government – from local governments and Indian Tribes to State DOTs – are encouraged to apply for up to $848 million in discretionary grant funding, which comes on top of PROTECT formula funding that is already flowing to States.” The program’s Notice of Funding Opportunity for FY 2022 and 2023 is online. Applications will be accepted through August 18, 2023.

Climate Change & Infrastructure Resilience Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Maintenance Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Safety (Includes COVID-19 Impacts) US Department of Transportation (USDOT) US Gov't Transportation Funding US Infrastructure Funding And Financing Initiatives

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LA Metro Will Hold Public Forum On Proposed FY24 Budget

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) announced the continuation of a series of public meetings in advance of its May vote on the agency’s budget for FY2024 (July 1, 2023 – June 30-2024). An April 25 forum “where Metro’s budget team will share analysis of the public feedback received and present the proposed budget,” can be attended in person, online or by phone. Comments will be accepted through May 17, when one more public hearing will be held. “The Metro Board is then scheduled to vote on the budget at their meeting on May 25.” [Editor’s Note: The announcement headline misstates the April forum date. The agenda and the notice body give the correct date, Tuesday, April 25.]

California Company and Agency Financial Issues And Reports Los Angeles (CA) Metro Region Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro)

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NHTSA Projects Little Change In Highway Death Rate During 2022

The Washington Post reports, “About 42,795 people were killed in traffic crashes last year, according to an estimate [yesterday] from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA], a sign that a pandemic-era surge in deaths has been slowed but not reversed. The estimate represents a decline of 0.3 percent compared with 2021, but an increase of almost 18 percent compared with 2019.” The Post adds, “[T]the causes of the recent increase aren’t clear. Experts have pointed to an increase in risky behavior on roads that began during the pandemic . . . but also to the combination of changing traffic patterns and roads designed to prioritize speed.” The NHTSA data also reportedly “show wide variations in crash deaths across the country, with more than half of states seeing a decline in deaths, while others recorded increases.”

Associated Press (via Transpot Topics) also covers this story.

Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Safety (Includes COVID-19 Impacts) Transportation and Infrastructure Research & Development US Department of Transportation (USDOT) US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.

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