DOT Promoting Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Program

Client: City of North Pole, Alaska
Date: 2023

Project Summary

The PROTECT Program was started under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help communities prepare their surface infrastructure for future natural hazard, such as flooding or extreme weather events. PROTECT grant activities can be grouped into 1 of 4 categories: (1) Planning, (2) Resilience Improvement, (3) Community Resilience and Evacuation Routes, and (4) At-risk coastal Infrastructure. In 2023, the City of North Pole, Alaska was seeking funds in the Resilience Improvement category for a drainage improvement project to meet both current and future climate impact challenges, build community strength, and increase the adaptive capacity of the city’s infrastructure. The funding covered engineering/permitting costs, construction costs, and grant management costs.

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TBEC conducted client meetings with city officials to get information on the project’s purpose and scope, and to gain an understanding of the community’s goals in terms of this project. Community priorities are identified in these meetings and incorporated into the project narrative. Follow-up project support meetings also occurred to check on the progress of the application. Additional research was conducted to support the application and provide background about the city, why the project is necessary, and how specifically the project will alleviate any challenges caused by stormwater flooding. In addition, the application required various forms to be filled out and submitted alongside the project narrative.

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Overall, TBEC spent 7 weeks working on the application for North Pole. The work TBEC did included client meetings, background research and information gathering, grant drafting, and budgeting. In FY2022 and 2023, the first year of the PROTECT Grant Program, nearly $830 million was awarded to 80 applicants nationwide, including the $752,142 awarded to North Pole.

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Project Deliverables:

• Completed DOT PROTECT Grant Application that included:

  • Project description

  • Use of funds

  • Benefit-Cost Analysis

  • Merit Criteria

  • Relevant maps and figures

  • Appendix

• Budget narrative

• Forms

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External Links:

PROTECT webpage

Award notice

City of North Pole website