Wisconsin communities to receive nearly $1 million for road safety planning

Five Wisconsin communities will receive a total of $985,718 in federal discretionary funds through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program. This competitive grant program aims to help communities identify solutions to improve road safety in their area. 

“We applaud U.S. DOT’s commitment to help make roads safer and save lives in Wisconsin through this grant program,” Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson said. “These federal discretionary grants can make a real difference in our state and we encourage Wisconsin communities to continue to apply for them.”

This announcement, the first of two award announcements for this round of FY23 SS4A funding​, is for planning and demonstration grants. The following Wisconsin applicants will receive funding directly for their community’s projects:

• City of Beloit – $400,400 – develop an SS4A action plan and pilot temporary bike lanes 
• City of La Crosse – $160,000 – develop a safety action plan to prioritize projects which will lead to safer and more equitable streets for all 
• Milwaukee County DOT – $219,918 – pilot street safety upgrades, including portable speed bumps, high visibility crosswalks, and carry out studies to inform their upcoming action plans 
• Oneida Nation – $100,400 – prepare plan to apply for an implementation grant 
• Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians – $105,000 – create comprehensive safety action plan on tribal roads 

This funding is made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in order to help communities plan, design and build safer streets. This is a key element of U.S. DOT’s National Roadway Safety Strategy​ to combat the crisis of deaths on our nation’s roads. In December, the next round of SS4A awards will include implementation safety improvement grants.

​The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has taken an active approach to helping communities identify funding available through the highly competitive discretionary grant process. A list of Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO), calendar showing grant openings, tips on how to apply, and a simple tool to request a letter of support is available at wisconsindot.gov/BIL.​

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