DHS Gives $4.8 Million to Fund Highway Watch Program

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he Department of Homeland Security said Thursday it was allocating $4.8 million to the Highway Watch program for the current fiscal year.

The funding will be used to continue Highway Watch “as a sustainable national program to enhance security and overall preparedness on our nation’s highways,” DHS said in a release.

Highway Watch is managed by American Trucking Associations. The program recruits and trains highway professionals to identify and report security and safety situations on the nation’s roads.

Also included were $168 million for port security, and various grant packages for chemical facility security and transit security, DHS said.

Bill Jacobs, vice president of Highway Watch, told Transport Topics the organization “appreciated the opportunity to grow and sustain the program.”

He said the money will be used for training and outreach activities, and fund the call center where tips are filtered.

Since DHS first began providing funding to ATA for Highway Watch in 2003, the agency said it has provided “more than $45 million through the trucking security program.”

The money was announced as part of a nearly $400 million package of grants to “strengthen the nation’s ability to prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks,” DHS said.