DATE: November 28, 2023
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Retroactively Authorize Submittal of Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Discretionary Grant Application to United States Department of Transportation
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Retroactively authorize, approve, and ratify the execution by Director of the Department of Public Works and Planning and the submittal by the Department of Public Works and Planning of a Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Discretionary Grant application to United States Department of Transportation for the County of Fresno West Side Flooding Resilience Plan, a study of Fresno County’s rural west side transportation corridors to reduce the impact of flooding events on its infrastructure ($540,000).
REPORT
Approval of this recommended action will retroactively authorize the execution and submittal of a funding application by the Director of the Department of Public Works and Planning (Director) to the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) for the PROTECT Discretionary Grant to meet the program application deadline of August 18, 2023.
The project described in the PROTECT application seeks funding for the County of Fresno West Side Flooding Resilience Plan, a study of Fresno County’s rural west side transportation corridors to reduce the impact of flooding events on its infrastructure. The deliverable is a report that studies Belmont Avenue, from Fairfax Avenue to the City of Mendota (10 miles), and Manning Avenue, from Interstate 5 to the city of San Joaquin (5.5 miles), to identify solutions to flooding issues, preliminary designs, and associated estimated costs for right of way and construction.
This item pertains to locations in District 1.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If the recommended action is not approved, the PROTECT application submitted to USDOT will be withdrawn from funding consideration.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The cost associated with carrying out the project is $540,000. There is no local match required.
DISCUSSION:
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) established the PROTECT Program to help make surface transportation more resilient 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 costal infrastructure. The vision of the PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program is to fund projects that address the climate crisis by improving the resilience of surface transportation systems. Projects selected under this program should be grounded in the best available scientific understanding of climate change risks, impacts, and vulnerabilities. They should support the continued operation or rapid recovery of crucial local, regional, or national surface transportation facilities. In addition, the program encourages innovative and collaborative approaches to risk reduction, including the use of natural infrastructure. Also called nature-based solutions, these strategies include conservation, restoration, or construction of riparian and streambed treatments, marshes, wetlands, native vegetation, stormwater bioswales, breakwaters, reefs, dunes, and shade trees. They reduce flood risks, erosion, wave damage, and heat impacts while also creating habitat, filtering pollutants, and providing recreational benefits. By funding projects that improve resilience to natural hazards and climate change impacts, the PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program aims to reduce damage and disruption to the transportation system, improve the safety of the traveling public, and improve equity by addressing the needs of disadvantaged populations that are often the most vulnerable to hazards.
For Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023, up to $848 million is available for PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program awards. Of this amount, up to $45 million is available for Planning Grants. The Department submitted an application, contingent upon the Board’s approval, for a planning grant to study the western region of Fresno County, where flooding heavily impacts the roads, causing road closures and delaying trips made by residents and freight vehicles. The roads selected for study are Belmont Avenue, from Fairfax Avenue to the City of Mendota (10 miles), and Manning Avenue, from Interstate 5 to the city of San Joaquin (5.5 miles), which regularly close when rain events occur, and severe flooding makes the roads impassable. The areas are characterized by agricultural land on all sides, and rain turns the surrounding dirt into a river of mud that washes over the roads and carries sediment that road crews must clear before traffic can resume. Road closures can last a few days, or several weeks. The grant will fund surveying of the land, hydraulic studies to determine water flow conditions, and civil engineering to produce preliminary design solutions and viable alternatives to reduce flooding. With these grant funds, the Department will explore nature-based solutions, which restore or create sustainable environments to protect infrastructure from flooding, soil erosion, and landslides. In addition, the project will benefit vulnerable populations at high risk to the consequences of weather hazards, as these studies will address areas in impacted disadvantaged Census tracts.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Application to USDOT
CAO ANALYST:
Salvador Espino