With a disproportionate number of people being killed while bicycling or walking, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced $1 billion in grants to make America’s roads safer.

What You Need To Know

  • U.S. Department of Transportation announced $1 billion in grants to make America’s roads safer

  • The DOT grants will be given to 354 local, regional and tribal communities to plan and implement road safety improvements in urban and rural areas

  • The money is provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program, which has already funded projects in 1,400 communities nationwide

  • The DOT funding announcement comes the same day the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released an early estimate of roadway deaths that found they were down 3.2% in the first half of 2024 compared with a year earlier

“We should be energized by the fact that together we’ve reduced traffic fatalities for more than two years in a row now, but so much more work remains to fully address the crisis on our roads,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

The DOT funding announcement comes the same day the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released an early estimate of roadway deaths that showed they fell 3.2% in the first half of 2024 compared with a year earlier.

Provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program, the DOT grants will be given to 354 local, regional and tribal communities to plan and implement road safety improvements in urban and rural areas. Since 2022, the program has funded projects in 1,400 communities nationwide, about half of which have gone to rural communities and areas with populations of less than 50,000 people.

Los Angeles County is receiving one of the largest grants from the newest round of funding. The DOT will provide it with $29.8 million for safety improvements at 77 intersections around schools, all of which have higher-than-average rates of pedestrian injuries and fatalities. 

Kalamazoo County in Michigan will receive $25 million for improvements along 130 miles of mostly rural roadways, where 74 people have died and 30 people have been seriously injured over the past five years.

The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana will receive $20.3 million to reconstruct a two-lane rural road that has a higher-than-average crash rate largely due to missing and improperly located signs and pavement markings.

“The Safe Streets and Roads for All program gives local and tribal governments the resources to plan and implement the safety improvements that will make the most difference in their communities,” U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg said in a statement. “They know what is best, and this program leverages that local expertise to save lives.”