WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nearly $1 billion in federal funding is being unleashed nationwide to tackle some of America’s most dangerous roads, intersections, and emergency response gaps, following a major overhaul of how safety dollars are awarded.
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced that $982,231,998 will be distributed to 521 roadway safety projects spanning 48 states, 18 Tribal communities, and Puerto Rico. The funding targets high-risk intersections, pedestrian corridors, rural roadways, and emergency response systems — areas where crashes are most likely to turn deadly.
The grants flow through the Safe Streets and Roads for All program, a competitive initiative designed to cut serious injuries and fatalities for pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, transit riders, and truck drivers. This round represents one of the largest single-year safety investments under the program.
Federal officials say the money is moving faster this year because the program was restructured earlier in 2025. Requirements tied to diversity, equity, and environmental justice — added under the prior administration — were stripped out, a move the Department of Transportation says removed bottlenecks that slowed approvals and discouraged applications.
“Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg inserted radical DEI and Green New Scam requirements into these safety grant programs – making it harder for communities to apply for these funds and delaying critical projects,” Duffy said. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we’ve put aside the woke nonsense and focused on one goal: safety. We’re moving these investments at the speed of Trump to save lives.”
The funding is split between planning grants, which help communities design or refine safety action plans, and implementation grants, which pay for shovel-ready projects tied to those plans. Officials say the mix is intended to help both large cities and smaller, rural communities address longstanding hazards.
Among the projects funded are a new traffic incident management training facility in Memphis aimed at improving first-responder driving safety, upgraded 911 and emergency communications across rural corridors in Shawnee County, Kansas, and a major pedestrian and bicycle bridge in Huntsville, Alabama designed to separate foot and vehicle traffic over busy highways.
Grant selections were made through a joint review involving the Federal Highway Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Federal Transit Administration, drawing on crash data, risk assessments, and project readiness.
Transportation officials framed the announcement as a clear pivot away from policy-driven scoring and toward rapid deployment of safety infrastructure. With traffic deaths still hovering near historic highs, the department says the emphasis now is speed, simplicity, and results — getting concrete poured, signals upgraded, and emergency responders to crash scenes faster.
For communities long stuck with dangerous roads and delayed funding, the message from Washington is blunt: the checks are finally moving, and the focus is no longer politics — it’s survival.
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