PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire — Route 1A Improvement Works well underway as Federal, state, and local officials met last month at the Rye Harbor State Park on New Hampshire’s coastline, to celebrate a $20 million federal grant to reconstruct seawalls along Route 1A.
Route 1A has seen a lot of damage to walkways and road surfaces in recent years as this stretch of New Hampshire’s coastline is particularly prone to nor’easters which have damaged the low elevation roads.
The project, which was already in the works before two massive storms hit the seacoast in January, was conceived to lessen flooding and structural damage when storms hit, shorten the time needed for cleanup after a storm and in general, make travel smoother for everyone, according to the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.
The state’s grant application has outlined that this vital funding will cover about 80 percent of the total estimated construction costs for the first phase of the improvement works project. This phase includes three high-priority sections in a 0.6-mile stretch between North Hampton and Rye. The plan is for four further contracts to tackle another 11 sections along 3.2 miles of roadway.
“As the frequency and intensity of coastal storms increase and sea levels rise, the vulnerability of NH Rt 1A and the communities the roadway serves is increasing,” the state said in its application, noting that the road also serves as an emergency evacuation route for the nuclear power plant in Seabrook.
This grant for the Route 1A Improvement Works is among 80 projects nationwide getting nearly $830 million to make transportation systems more resilient in the face of extreme weather events, rising sea-levels, and other natural threats and disasters.
The federal funding, which is being given out through the “Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation” (PROTECT) discretionary grant program was authorized as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed in 2021.
The vision of the PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program is to fund projects that address the climate crisis by improving the resilience of the surface transportation system, including highways, public transportation, ports, and intercity passenger rail.
In 2021, the United States faced 20 extreme weather and climate related disasters, with losses totaling $145 billion. As the number and severity of extreme weather and climate related disasters is expected to rise over the years the PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program is part of a wider $8.7 billion in federal funding to better prepare our communities for when, not if, further extreme weather events occur.
