The NJTPA is partnered with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to complete a Resilience Improvement Plan, or RIP, which enables our region to seek federal funds to prepare the transportation system for climate-related natural disasters.
A RIP, developed by states or metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and submitted to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), is a voluntary component of the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Program. PROTECT is a FHWA discretionary grant program, created through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, that provides funding to ensure surface transportation resilience to natural hazards including climate change, sea level rise, flooding, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters through support of planning activities, resilience improvements, community resilience and evacuation routes, and at-risk coastal infrastructure.
One amended into the Long Range Transportation Plan, the NJTPA’s RIP will allow NJTPA subregions and municipalities that are applying for 2024 PROTECT grants to take advantage of a lower non-federal match and will improve the competitiveness of their applications. The NJTPA Board is expected to take action on this amendment at its November 12, 2024 meeting.
Blythe Eaman
Director, Environmental & Sustainability Planning
[email protected]