The Biden-Harris Administration has announced the launch of a program to provide more than $1 billion in grant funding for local communities to improve roadway safety.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), The Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program aims to help communities reduce the number of deaths and severe injuries on highways, streets, and roads. The program was established under President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will direct funding towards projects in high-crash areas, which are easier to identify, thanks to an interactive tool created by DOT.
“The crisis of traffic deaths on our nation’s roadways demands urgent and sustained action by us all,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, according to the press release. “With our Safe Streets and Roads for All program, we are helping communities across the country save lives by making their roads safer.”
Potential locally-driven solutions to address traffic safety could include improving sidewalks, adding high-visibility crosswalks, and reconfiguring intersections.
The SS4A grant program is a significant element of DOT's National Roadway Safety Strategy, launched in 2022 to address the high number of traffic deaths in the country. The first round of funding, announced in February, saw more than 500 communities receive funding for planning and projects, with 474 communities receiving Action Planning grants, and 37 communities receiving Implementation grants. In this funding round, DOT anticipates awarding at least $250 million in demonstration activities, also known as "quick build" projects.
Applications are available to individual communities including "MPOs, counties, cities, towns, other special districts that are subdivisions of a state, certain transit agencies, federally recognized Tribal governments, and multijurisdictional groups of eligible applicants." The deadline for applications is July 10 at 5 p.m. Eastern.
Visitors can find more information about the The Safe Streets and Roads for All Notice of Funding Opportunity here.
