Congressman Cohen Applauds $16.1 Million to Restore Mississippi River Wetlands
Supported West Memphis application to DOT to protect roadways against future flood events
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, today applauded notice that the City of West Memphis will receive a $16,155,550 Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Congressman Cohen has been active in generating support for the funding, which will restore hundreds of acres of Mississippi River floodplain with wetlands and riparian forest protecting the surface transportation routes of Interstates 55 and 40, two major freight rail lines and the Big River Crossing bicycle-pedestrian bridge that opened in 2016 for which he secured funding.
Created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the PROTECT program helps 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 coastal infrastructure.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
“The thoughtful use of this PROTECT grant will restore the environment along our riverfront and strengthen the resiliency of major transportation and recreation corridors benefiting the entire Mid-South region. I was pleased to work with DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg, regional state and federal DOT officials and the many public and private stakeholders who have made this major investment possible. Although the grant recipient is technically in Arkansas, this funding will have a positive impact on Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District and the wider region. I am pleased to see another IIJA discretionary grant awarded to our community.”
The PROTECT project is supported by a wide variety of stakeholders including many in Memphis, including Congressman David Kustoff (TN-8), the City of Memphis, Shelby County, FedEx, AutoZone, the Greater Memphis Chamber, the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Downtown Memphis Commission, Regional One Health, and the University of Memphis among many others.
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