U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced the latest rounds of federal funding to improve transportation infrastructure in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin with a pair of social media posts.
"We've announced over $2B to improve transportation infrastructure in Iowa," Sec. Buttigieg posted on Twitter April 11. "That includes a $10.4M project in Fayette County that'll improve roads and protect communities' safety by widening shoulders and installing rumble strips along 50 miles of roadway."
The $800 million in infrastructure-improvement grants awarded in February are funded through the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SSRA) grant program, which provides a total of $5 billion over five years to help communities improve roadways in order to reduce traffic deaths and injuries, among other goals.
Fayette County, Iowa, received $10.4 million for improvements along approximately 50 miles of roadway where lane-departure crashes make up nearly 60% of serious injuries and fatalities, according to the February awards announcement. The improvements include widening shoulders and installation of rumble strips, the release said.
Several cities and counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin have also received grants, which Buttigieg addressed in a second April 11 tweet.
"And over $4.5B in federal funding to improve transportation infrastructure in Minnesota and Wisconsin," Buttigieg tweeted. "That includes some terrific projects we recently awarded to improve road safety and help save lives in 19 communities."
In Minnesota, 10 recipients were awarded funds from the SSRA, including the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, the City of Eagan and Hennepin County, KSTP News reported in February. Other cities such as Columbia Heights, Elk River, Monticello, Red Wing, St. Louis Park, Willmar, and Woodbury also received funding for their Comprehensive Community Safety Assessments and Safety Action Plans.
In Wisconsin, six communities were granted funds for their respective safety action plans, including Brown County, Kenosha County, and St. Croix County. The City of Milwaukee received a substantial $4.4 million for their Accessible Intersections for All project, while the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa received $132,500 for their action plan of Shifting Traffic Safety Culture in the Heart of the North.
