The White House is hosting a series of webinars for implementation stakeholders to provide an in-depth look into the programs contained within the chapters of “A Guidebook to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”
by Glenn Grimshaw
Safety – March 8, 2022
On March 8, officials from the White House and U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT’s) Office of the Secretary, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Federal Highway Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration hosted an “Infrastructure School” session focused on safety. This virtual session provided a comprehensive overview of the wide range of new and existing safety programs included in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), from local street measures to enhanced oversight of commercial vehicles.
The first program discussed during the session was the new $5 billion Safe Streets and Roads for All competitive grant program. This program will support USDOT’s recently released National Roadway Safety Strategy, and will allocate funds to states, local governments, tribes and metropolitan planning organizations (or a combination of these) to prevent roadway deaths and injuries across the country. Funding is available for a range of uses, including developing a comprehensive safety action plan, to plan for projects in a safety plan and to carry out projects, such as improved signage, speed management projects, safe pedestrian crossings and addressing alcohol impaired driving. The Notice of Funding Opportunity will be released in May with awards announced at the end of 2022, with an expected allocation of 40% to planning and 60% towards implementation.
Subsequently, an official from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) spoke to the Highway Safety Improvement Program—the largest of the safety programs in the IIJA. Funding for this existing formula grant program increased by 34% as a result of the passage of the IIJA and now totals $15.56 billion over FY22 to FY26. The program is primarily targeted towards highway safety improvement projects, but up to 10% of funding can now be used for other uses such as highway safety education and enforcement. The FHWA also outlined its Railway-Highway Crossings Program, an existing formula program that gives attention to eliminating hazards at railway-highway crossings. Changes to this program in the IIJA include allowing funding to be used to reduce trespassing, an increase in the incentive payment for a state closing an at-grade railway crossing (from $75,000 to $100,000) and an increase in the federal share to 100%. This program is separate to the new Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Crossing Elimination Grants program (see Passenger and freight rail infrastructure school summary below). During the Q&A section of the webinar, the FHWA underlined that 2.5% of planning funding allocated to states and metropolitan planning organizations must be spent on activities related to Complete Streets, which are focused on the accommodation of all users of the transportation system (pedestrians, cyclists and motorists).
An official from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) then presented an overview of its largest program—the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program. This $2.4 billion measure offers assistance to states to help regulate over 600,000 motor carriers to ensure they are operating safely through roadside inspections, investigations and safety audits of commercial motor vehicles. The program also comprises a human trafficking element, with states at the southern border receiving additional funding for training and enforcement purposes. The FMCSA official also discussed its Commercial Driver’s License Implementation Program, which assists states with upgrading IT systems, reducing wait times and promoting consistent standards for driver training. The FMCSA’s new Commercial…
Read More: White House Infrastructure Webinars – National Governors Association