Traffic Signals, Lanes, and Signage Improvements to Be Funded in El Paso By New Federal Grant1/8/2024 Funding has been received for a project that will see long-desired traffic improvements made to N. Yarbrough Drive, which runs north to south through El Paso. The project will foster improvements to current right turn and left turn lanes, reducing lane widths, and building curb extensions, along with improved signalization. Support to the tune of nearly $10 million is coming through a Safe Streets and Roads for All grant, which is administered by the federal Department of Transportation. Such grants are specifically designed to improve street lighting, build new sidewalks, create more shared-use paths, and install increased signage and traffic signals where appropriate. El Paso was one of a host of cities last month to be targeted for the grant funding program, described by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as an initiative to "confront the crisis of safety on our nation's roads, helping communities work to reduce traffic deaths to the only acceptable number: zero." Altogether, 48 cities are receiving Safe Streets and Roads for All Grants, with a total dollar value of more than $813 million. Funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the grants were originally pegged at the $5 billion level when the project launched in 2022. According to the Transportation Department, there is still some $3 billion left to be spent between now and 2026. In announcing its funding for El Paso, the Transportation Department noted that Yarbrough Drive is "the second highest in the region for bicycle and pedestrian-involved crashes and is ranked among the top ten city-wide segments for motor vehicle killed and serious injury crashes." In a statement, Joaquin Rodriguez, City of El Paso director of Grant Funded Programs, characterized the new funding as a "significant step forward in making our roadway transportation network safer." By Garry Boulard
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