II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5570 

To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a grant program to 

rebuild and improve transportation infrastructure at urban waterfronts, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 17 (legislative day, DECEMBER 16), 2024 

Mr. CARDIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a grant 

program to rebuild and improve transportation infrastructure at urban waterfronts, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Constructing Resilient 

5 and Enduring Waterfronts Act’’ or the ‘‘CREW Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CONSTRUCTING RESILIENT AND ENDURING WATER2 FRONTS PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 23, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘§ 180. Constructing Resilient and Enduring Water7 fronts program 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 

10 the Constructing Resilient and Enduring Water11 fronts program established under subsection (b). 

12 ‘‘(2) URBAN WATERFRONT.—The term ‘urban 

13 waterfront’ means an area of land within an urban14 ized area that is in the vicinity of a major river, 

15 lake, estuary, or ocean that— 

16 ‘‘(A) includes land immediately adjacent to 

17 that body of water; and 

18 ‘‘(B) is planned or used for multiple uses, 

19 including residential and commercial uses, pub20 lic parks and green space, and infrastructure to 

21 support such uses. 

22 ‘‘(3) URBAN WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT

23 PLAN.—The term ‘urban waterfront development 

24 plan’ means a plan that— 

25 ‘‘(A) considers the improvement of all, or 

26 1 or more parts, of an urban waterfront for the 


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1 purposes of economic development, housing, 

2 safety, and resilience to flooding and extreme 

3 weather; and 

4 ‘‘(B) identifies a need for not less than 

5 $200,000,000 in investments for transportation, 

6 public spaces, and other infrastructure at the 

7 urban waterfront. 

8 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab9 lish a program, to be known as the ‘Constructing Resilient 

10 and Enduring Waterfronts program’, to provide grants, 

11 on a competitive basis, to rebuild and improve transpor12 tation infrastructure at urban waterfronts. 

13 ‘‘(c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program are— 

14 ‘‘(1) to improve the resilience of public space 

15 and public infrastructure from extreme weather 

16 events, flooding, and rising sea levels; 

17 ‘‘(2) to improve circulation and access to water18 front resources for the general public; 

19 ‘‘(3) to unlock the economic benefits of urban 

20 waterfronts; and 

21 ‘‘(4) to restore and improve air quality and 

22 water quality at urban waterfronts. 

23 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity eligible to re24 ceive a grant under the program is any of the following: 

25 ‘‘(1) A State or political subdivision of a State. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A metropolitan planning organization. 

2 ‘‘(3) A unit of local government. 

3 ‘‘(4) A special purpose district or public author4 ity established for the purpose of implementing an 

5 urban waterfront development plan. 

6 ‘‘(5) A nonprofit entity established and author7 ized by a State to implement an urban waterfront 

8 development plan. 

9 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

10 under the program, an eligible entity described in sub11 section (d) shall submit to the Secretary an application 

12 at such time, in such manner, and containing such infor13 mation as the Secretary may require. 

14 ‘‘(f) ELIGIBLE COSTS.—Funds from a grant under 

15 the program may be used for— 

16 ‘‘(1) reconstruction and realignment of the 

17 street network at the urban waterfront in order— 

18 ‘‘(A) to expand access to the waterfront to 

19 larger numbers of visitors; 

20 ‘‘(B) to calm traffic; or 

21 ‘‘(C) to provide safer conditions for people 

22 using nonmotorized transportation; 

23 ‘‘(2) construction of pedestrian walkways at the 

24 urban waterfront; 


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1 ‘‘(3) construction or improvement of green in2 frastructure at the urban waterfront— 

3 ‘‘(A) to improve natural conditions; 

4 ‘‘(B) to strengthen resilience; or 

5 ‘‘(C) to provide flood protection; 

6 ‘‘(4) construction or improvement of infrastruc7 ture at the urban waterfront providing resilience and 

8 protection against flooding and sea level rise, such 

9 as seawalls; 

10 ‘‘(5) activities to repair or improve utilities re11 quired by or associated with construction of road12 ways or other transportation infrastructure at the 

13 urban waterfront; 

14 ‘‘(6) changes or improvements to stormwater 

15 infrastructure at the urban waterfront; 

16 ‘‘(7) installation, replacement, or repair of 

17 lighting, signage, or planting at the urban water18 front; or 

19 ‘‘(8) activities eligible under section 133(h). 

20 ‘‘(g) URBAN WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT PLAN.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

22 grant under the program, an eligible entity described 

23 in subsection (d) shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) demonstrate that there is in effect for 

25 the urban waterfront an urban waterfront deVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:05 Jan 21, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5570.IS S5570

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1 velopment plan that was developed by the appli2 cable unit of local government through a robust 

3 process of public engagement; 

4 ‘‘(B) demonstrate that the urban water5 front development plan has taken into consider6 ation the best available science and data re7 garding the vulnerabilities of the urban water8 front to flooding caused by sea level rise or ex9 treme weather events; and 

10 ‘‘(C) demonstrate the need for imple11 menting the project as part of the urban water12 front development plan in terms of the progress 

13 the project would make toward achieving 1 or 

14 more purposes described in subsection (c). 

15 ‘‘(2) MULTIPLE EXISTING PLANS.—The Sec16 retary may determine that an eligible entity has 

17 made the demonstration described in paragraph 

18 (1)(A) through a combination of existing plans. 

19 ‘‘(3) INCLUSION.—A project eligible to be car20 ried out under the program shall be within the scope 

21 of the applicable urban waterfront development plan. 

22 ‘‘(h) GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant provided under the 

23 program shall be not less than $30,000,000. 

24 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

25 authorized to be appropriated out of the Highway Trust 


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1 Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) to carry out 

2 the program $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 

3 through 2031.’’. 

4 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap5 ter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by insert6 ing after the item relating to section 179 the following: 

‘‘180. Constructing Resilient and Enduring Waterfronts program.’’. 

Æ 


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