Just under $1 billion in federal funding is now being made available for local and state road improvement projects across the country.
The funding is coming through the Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets for All program, which was established five years ago as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
At the time of the program’s founding, the Washington Post noted that for decades experts have focused on increasing safety by looking at what’s going on inside a vehicle, such as mandating seat belt usage and improving the ability of a vehicle to withstand a crash.
But a new focus, as seen with the Safe Streets for All initiative, has put an emphasis on such things as “redesigning dangerous intersections to keep drivers more alert, or adding median barriers on rural divided highways to prevent head-on collisions.”
The new funding opportunity, said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a statement, “will cover everything, from ensuring paramedics can reach you faster in an emergency, to making sure your kids are safer when walking to school.”
Funding for the program comes in the form of both planning and demonstration grants as well as implementation grants. Individual efforts eligible for funding include everything from projects to protect pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists to public transportation system improvements.
A Notice of Funding Opportunity issued by the Transportation Department notes that the application deadline for funding is May 26.
March 30, 2026
By Garry Boulard
