FHWA announces $21 million in grant awards for Tribal Transportation safety improvements from President’s bipartisan infrastructure law

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Thursday, February 2nd, 2023 11:57am

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Washington, D.C. (KINY) - As part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced that 70 Tribes will receive approximately $21 million for 93 projects that improve road safety on Tribal lands.

Traffic crashes occur more frequently in Tribal and rural communities, and addressing that is one of the safety goals laid out in the Department’s National Roadway Safety Strategy.

Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt said, “This funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will not only improve safety on Tribal roads for drivers, but it will improve safety and accessibility for other users such as road work crews, pedestrians and bicyclists."

“We’re pleased to help Tribes implement these projects that will help save lives in Tribal communities,” Administrator Bhatt said.

The funding comes from FHWA’s Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund. The list of grant recipients announced today includes 16 Tribes that have not previously participated in the program and will now receive funding to develop their first transportation safety plan. The funding is provided directly to Tribes for a range of projects, including the development of safety plans, data analysis activities, pedestrian infrastructure improvements, roadway departure countermeasures, intersection safety, visibility and traffic calming.

A number of Alaskan tribes have been included as grant recipients to either update their existing transportation safety plans or to begin developing their first transportation safety plan.

The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides the largest funding ever in the history of the Tribal Transportation Program, which includes the safety fund, by increasing the total authorized from $2.4 billion under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act to $3 billion for Fiscal Years 2022 through 2026. This is in addition to the new Safe Streets and Roads for All discretionary grant program that will provide $1 billion this year to support regional, local, and Tribal plans, projects and strategies that will prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries. Today’s announcement follows USDOT's announcement earlier this week of $800 million for the first round of Safe Streets and Roads for All grants to 500 communities across the country.

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