FHWA Announces $21 Million in Grant Awards for Tribal Transportation Safety Improvements From President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

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

As part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s commitment to reducing roadway fatalities, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today 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.

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

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.

Among the FY2022 grant recipients  are the following:

• The Colorado River Indian Tribes in Arizona will receive $792,440 for two projects in La Paz County to implement roadway departure countermeasures along a curve on Booth Road and 4th Avenue and 2nd Avenue, which is currently at high risk for crashes, and to implement pedestrian safety improvements along Agency Road, 1st Avenue, and Arizona Avenue.
• The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians in Minnesota will receive $300,000 for pedestrian safety and walkability improvements for the Red Lake Nation Hospital Compound in Red Lake.
• The Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes in Montana will receive $600,000 for roadway infrastructure improvements, including shoulder widening and other improvements along Route 1 on the Fort Peck Reservation.
• The Seneca Nation of Indians in New York will receive $1,627,086 for the Broad Street-Iroquois Drive Intersection Improvement Project to construct a roundabout in Salamanca, New York.

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.

As part of the White House Tribal Nations Summit in December, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced a slate of actions to build on USDOT’s ongoing work to deliver infrastructure funding to Indian Country. Additionally, the White House released a Fact sheet on the Tribal Nations Summit announcements.

To further assist the 574 federally recognized Tribes in addressing their transportation needs, FHWA has developed Transportation Funding Opportunities for Tribal Nations, a brochure that provides information on new highway programs created under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as well as existing highway and bridge transportation funding programs. Additional information on the Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund can be found on the FHWA web site.

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