H.R. 8653 — ADAPT Assets Act

This section establishes the Accelerating Demonstration Approaches for Protecting Transportation Assets Program under which the Secretary of Transportation provides up to 10 competitive grants for demonstration projects that protect, elevate, adapt, relocate, or otherwise improve the resilience of transportation assets to natural hazards. Eligible applicants include metropolitan planning organizations, states, units of local government, public transportation agencies or authorities, port or public toll authorities, Tribal governments, and qualifying consortia. In selecting projects, the Secretary must consider the extent to which each project addresses recurring damage or asset failure on high-risk corridors, preserves or enhances regional mobility and safety, provides co-benefits to communities and other infrastructure, aligns with a resilience improvement plan, demonstrates readiness through regional governance structures and predevelopment milestones, and offers scalable or replicable approaches. Grants may fund predevelopment activities and capital construction, including protective features, system resilience improvements, and levees using natural infrastructure. The Secretary may enter multiyear grant agreements for projects with an estimated total cost of at least $500 million (subject to reduction for Tribal, rural, or insular applicants) that address specified multi-jurisdictional or regulatory barriers. The federal share may not exceed 80 percent, and the Secretary must issue a notice of funding opportunity within 180 days of enactment and annually thereafter.