Since 2022, the Safe Streets and Roads or All (SS4A) program has funded projects in more than 1,600 communities, supporting roadway safety for around 75% of the U.S. population
Early estimates for the first half of 2024 show that traffic fatalities have declined for more than two years straight
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced $172 million in grants to 257 communities through the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program created in President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This is the third and final round of 2024 awards that will be announced this year through the community-guided grant program, which is a key component of the National Roadway Safety Strategy.
The funding announced today will go directly to 257 local, regional, and Tribal communities for planning and demonstration projects that will help prevent deaths and serious injuries on America’s rural and urban roads, including some of the most dangerous roads in the country- making communities more walkable and connected.
“Improving streetscapes and dangerous stretches of highway can save lives, and the people who rely on our roads and streets everyday often already know where improvements are needed but until now lacked the funding to address them,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With this latest round of grants, funding will flow directly to communities across the country to help put life-saving projects in motion, building on our ongoing work to bring traffic fatalities down to the only number that’s acceptable: zero.”
Secretary Buttigieg declared a national roadway safety crisis in January of 2022 after roadway fatalities had peaked at over 43,000 deaths in 2021. At that time, the U.S. Department of Transportation launched its National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS), a comprehensive approach to significantly reducing serious injuries and deaths on America’s roads. Since then, road fatalities have been declining for more than 2 years, with nine quarters of consistent decline.
“The fatalities numbers we report are not just statistics. They are our family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and fellow Americans,” said Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg. “This motivates everyone at the USDOT to work to fulfill commitments we made under the National Roadway Safety Strategy to address all aspects of the roadway safety crisis. We hope our work will continue to bend that curve.”
The strategy includes the development of road safety action plans and the implementation of interventions that are proven to dramatically reduce crashes, like those funded through the SS4A program.
Since launching in 2022, SS4A has funded projects to plan and implement roadway improvements that are proven to dramatically reduce crashes. More than 1,600 communities, of which almost half are in rural areas, have applied for and been awarded SS4A grants. Across the nation, SS4A supports roadway safety for around 75% of the U.S. population.
Projects selected for funding today include:
- $4.8 million to the Romulus Fire Department in Michigan to pilot signal preemption systems throughout Wayne County to clear intersections for emergency vehicles as they are responding to 911 calls.
- $4.5 million to the Sonoma County Transportation Authority in California to conduct demonstration activities focused on lowering speeds, and install bicycle lanes and temporary curb extensions, with an emphasis on high-need safe routes to schools, parks, youth centers, bike share hubs, and transit.
- $497,839 to the Apalachee Regional Planning Council (ARPC) in Florida to create a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan (CSAP) for the 9-county region to reduce roadway fatalities and serious injuries. This project will result in the first CSAP for the Apalachee Region of Northwest Florida.
- $464,640 to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma to create a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan to prevent deaths and serious injuries on public roadways and to invest in the safety needs of the Choctaw Nation, a historically underserved community.
- $400,000 to Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, to develop a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan for all 75 miles of county-owned roadways, ranging from major arterials to rural two-lane roads.
Examples of previous SS4A awards over the past three years include:
- FY24: The Board of County Road Commissioners of the County of Kalamazoo, Michigan, was awarded $25 million to significantly improve safety for all by implementing low-cost, high-impact, evidence-based lane departure and vulnerable road user strategies over more than 130 miles of primary roadways-most of which are rural.
- FY23: Webster County, Iowa, was awarded $8.4 million to improve the safety of 32.5 miles of rural county roads that have a history of fatal crashes in the last five years. The project aims to reduce the number and severity of lane departures by implementing proven safety countermeasures.
- FY22: Hillsborough County, Florida, was awarded $19.7 million to improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and drivers at 22 locations throughout Hillsborough County, which has the highest traffic fatality rate per capita amongst large counties in the United States.
Today’s announcement comes ahead of World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on November 17, a day to recognize those who have been killed and seriously injured in traffic crashes.
View the full list of FY24 SS4A awards, including rounds one and two, here. View more information on the SS4A program here.