The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) allocated $20.9 million in grants for 88 Tribal projects, addressing roadway fatalities and injuries on Tribal lands and prioritizing Native American and Alaska Native communities. This funding is deemed a crucial step toward enhancing road safety for these communities.
“The crisis of traffic deaths on our nation’s roads stretches across the country, and that devastation is experienced at even higher rates in communities of Native Americans, Alaska Natives and other indigenous peoples," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a news release July 20.
Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that American Indian and Alaska Native children suffer the highest injury death rates among all racial and ethnic groups in the United States. The motor vehicle traffic death rates among American Indian and Alaska Native children and youth up to 19 years of age were found to be about 2 to 5 times higher than those of other racial and ethnic groups.
Additionally, the risk for injury among American Indian and Alaska Native persons, particularly men, is significantly higher. The motor vehicle traffic death rates among American Indian and Alaska Native men aged 20 years and older were discovered to be more than twice that of women, according to the CDC.
To address these concerns, the FHWA unveiled the Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund grant awards for fiscal year 2023, the release reported. These grants will support 29 safety plan projects, with seven Tribes receiving funding to develop their first transportation safety plan.
Additionally, 37 roadway infrastructure safety improvement projects have received the green light, including a $300,000 grant to the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, the release reported. The funds will be utilized to design safety countermeasures along CC Bel Road, a high-risk roadway that has seen several roadway departure crashes, as well as two intersections that have been prone to accidents.
The grants also will finance 15 data assessment and analysis activities-related projects, including a $45,000 grant to Michigan’s Bay Mills Indian Community. This project will focus on conducting a road safety audit for pedestrian facilities in residential areas, the release reported. Moreover, nine projects aimed at reducing roadway departures will receive funding, with the Native Village of Noatak in Alaska securing $19,969 to apply countermeasures along roadway curves and high-risk locations.
According to the announcement, the Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund grants primarily will be used for implementing proven countermeasures such as pavement markings, rumble strips and enhanced pedestrian infrastructure.
