ByThe Biden administration awarded $830 million in grants to fund 80 projects for toughening the nation's aging infrastructure against climate change.
The money is expected to improve bridges, roads, ports, rail, transit and other infrastructure across 37 states, Washington, D.C. and the Virgin Islands, particularly those battered by increasingly frequent extreme weather events brought on by the planet's warming. "We have seen far too many examples of transportation infrastructure being shut down or damaged by extreme weather, which is more extreme and more frequent in this time of climate change," Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said in a call with reporters ahead of the announcement. "America's infrastructure was not built for the climate that we have today, and the consequences of this are very real and being felt by people in every part of the country.
Here in the Bay Area, $20 million will go toward improving Highway 37 from Sears Point to Mare Island.EXCLUSIVE:The federal funding will help install sheet pile walls, reinforce the siding and raise the roadway at two segments. Some changes would include installing retaining walls and reinforcing slopes to resist erosion.