FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced that it would award $19.3 million to the Coconino County Flood Control District through the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Grant program. The funds will go toward the District’s Highway 89 Post-Wildfire Flood Resiliency Project, one of many projects the District has pursued to mitigate post-wildfire flooding from the 2022 Pipeline Fire.As a principal arterial connecting Flagstaff to Utah, Colorado, the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribal Lands, and Grand Canyon National Park, Highway 89 is a vital interstate thoroughfare that supports travel of over 11,000 vehicles per day. The 2022 Pipeline Fire damaged 8 watersheds above the Highway 89 corridor near Flagstaff, resulting in increased rainfall discharge up to 26 times greater than pre-fire conditions. This has caused severe and …
