Michigan Receives Grants to Improve Road Safety

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded funds to Detroit and 13 other cities and counties to support safer roads.
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Stock photo by Rainy Wong via Unsplash.com

Yesterday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced that $800 million in grant funds will go to support road safety projects in the country, including approximately $25 million for Detroit, and around $8.8 million to split between 13 other safety plans being developed in Michigan.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s website, there are more than 40,000 fatalities on U.S. roadways each year. The new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program, which was established by Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law , aims to lessen, or completely eliminate, transportation-related deaths and injuries by funding 510 projects across the nation.

The competitive program will grant $5 billion to local, regional, and Tribal initiatives over five years for to redesign roads, or better sidewalks and crosswalks.

Detroit was the only Michigan city to be award SS4A funding in the first round of the program. The city was granted $24.8 million to “redesign existing transportation infrastructure in high crash areas and places with inadequate pedestrian infrastructure to focus on pedestrian and bicycle safety, and safer speeds for vehicle traffic.”

The department also awarded 13 implementation grants to help develop road safety programs around the state. Those grants are as follows:

  • $3.8 million for Ann Arbor to develop Ann Arbor Supplemental Action Planning.
  • $385 thousand for Ferndale to develop Regional Safe Streets 4 All Plan of Action.
  • $200 thousand for Highland Park to develop City of Highland Park Action Plan.
  • $750 thousand for Kalamazoo to develop SS4A Action Plan.
  • $168 thousand to Lansing to develop Safe Streets Lansing.
  • $412 thousand for Genesee County Metropolitan Planning Commission to develop the Development of Safety Action Plan for Genesee County Michigan.
  • $240 thousand for the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council to develop a comprehensive safety action plan.
  • $259.3 thousand for Keweenaw Bay Indian Community to develop Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Transportation Safety Management Plan.
  • $1 million to Macomb County Department of Roads to develop Macomb County Comprehensive Safety Action Plan.
  • $467.5 thousand to Road Commission for Oakland County to develop Road Commission for Oakland County Safety Action Plan.
  • $585.5 thousand to Southeast Michigan Council of Governments to develop SEMCOG Safe Streets for All Supplemental Action Planning.
  • $200 thousand for St. Joseph County Road Commission to develop Safety Acton Plan Grant for St. Joseph County.
  • $384.9 thousand to Van Buren Charter Township to develop SafeVB Roads and Streets Action Plan.

The next funding opportunity is $1.1 billion and is likely to be released in April.

For more information, visit transportation.gov. Find even more development news on HourDetroit.com