Arkansas receives more than $32 million in federal grants for safer streets work

The cities of Little Rock and Springdale will receive $25 million and $5.187 million from the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced Thursday (Sept. 5).

Funding received by the two cities are part of $1 billion in grants awarded through the SS4A program created by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. No member of Arkansaas’ Congressional delegation voted for the infrastructure law.

Eight other Arkansas cities and counties received grant funds through the SS4A program.

According to USDOT, the funds announced Thursday will go directly to 354 local, regional, and tribal communities, including nine in Arkansas, to improve roadway safety and prevent deaths and serious injuries on America’s rural and urban roads, including some of the most dangerous in the country.

A key focus of the grants are to reduce fatalities with infrastructure improvements. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported an estimated 18,720 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes, a decrease of about 3.2% compared with 19,330 fatalities projected to have occurred in the first half of 2023.

“Even with road fatalities decreasing over the past nine quarters straight, they remain far too high. Over 40,000 people have died on U.S. roads in each of the last three years, and a disproportionate number of people are killed in rural areas or while walking or bicycling. Additionally, traffic fatalities remain a leading cause of death for school-aged children and young adults,” the USDOT noted in the statement.

Since launching in 2022, SS4A has funded projects in more than 1,400 communities, supporting roadway safety for nearly 75% of the U.S. population.

“We should be energized by the fact that together we’ve reduced traffic fatalities for more than two years in a row now – but so much work remains to fully address the crisis on our roads. Today’s roadway safety grants will deliver funding directly to 354 communities and continue the important work we’re doing to reduce traffic fatalities to the only number that’s acceptable: zero,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The City of Little Rock was awarded $25 million for the Little Rock Safe Streets For All project to make improvements to five major corridors along its high-injury network. Some of the projects will include medians and pedestrian refuge islands, corridor access management, dedicated left- and right-turn lanes at intersections, roundabouts, safety edges and wider edge lines, retroreflective backplates, and lighting enhancements.

The City of Springdale was awarded $5.187 million for the Dean’s Trail Phase IIIB project to construct a multi-use trail segment. The trail segment (Phase IIIB) is the last section to complete Dean’s Trail. Dean’s Trail connects to the Razorback Greenway, considered to be a backbone of active transportation, spanning 40 miles and connecting seven cities.

Following are other Arkansas cities and counties included in Thursday’s grant funding announcement.
• City of Batesville: $616,024, to develop a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan
• Boone County: $392,000, to develop a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan
• Columbia County: $280,000, to develop a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan
• Drew County: $260,000, to develop a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan
• Izard County: $120,000, to develop a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan
• Marion County: $120,000, to develop a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan
• City of Russellville: $463,680, to develop or update an action plan and conduct demonstration or other supplemental planning activities
• City of Searcy: $400,000, to develop a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan