U.S. Department of Transportation announces final Safe Streets and Roads for All grant awards
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Ben Gilsdorf
Andrew Nober
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Key Takeaways
On Oct. 30, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced awards for the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program. The awardees included 76 county governments, which received more than $282 million through the program to implement and plan for roadway safety projects.
The program’s funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58) expired on Sep. 30, 2026, meaning the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 awards will be the final grants made under the program unless Congress acts to re-appropriate funding for it. NACo supports reauthorizing SS4A and endorsed the Safe Streets for All Reauthorization and Improvement Act (H.R. 5242) earlier in the 119th Congress to continue direct support for local roadway safety improvements.
The Safe Streets & Roads for All Program
Congress stood up SS4A in the IIJA to provide direct funding for local roadway safety projects, with only local governments and their agencies, metropolitan and regional planning organizations, transit agencies and tribal entities eligible to apply for the program. The program funds both planning and implementation for improvements to local roads that increase safety for all users and is a key component of the National Roadway Safety Strategy.
In addition to authorizing the program, the IIJA also included a total of $5 billion in advance appropriations for the program to provide guaranteed funding over the five-year lifespan of the bill. To date, more than 2,200 communities have received funding through SS4A, which is designed to be an accessible program for local applicants of all sizes to use to tackle persistent safety issues affecting residents.
Improving road safety is a priority for counties. Nationwide, counties own 44 percent of roads and 38 percent of bridges. SS4A helps counties achieve safety goals, reduces crashes and protect roadway users. In FY 2026, USDOT distributed more than $1 billion total to 297 different communities. Counties and county transportation agencies received 76 awards, totaling more than $282 million. Other awards go to cities, towns, metropolitan planning organizations, Tribes and special districts.
What’s Ahead
The IIJA was set to expire on September 30, 2026. While Congress chose to extend many of the law’s program authorizations, including that for the SS4A program, it did not extend the advance appropriations that had funded the program. Therefore, while the program is authorized for FY 2027, it does not have the funding needed to solicit and issue another round of awards.
This extension will expire on December 11, 2026. NACo supports either another extension of the IIJA’s authorities and the advance appropriations from Division J of the IIJA or a new, multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that funds county priority programs—like SS4A. The BUILD America 250 Act (H.R. 8870), for example, would reauthorize the SS4A program and provide it with guaranteed funding through the Highway Trust Fund. NACo urges Congress to act before the end of the year to ensure that counties continue to have access to federal funding to improve roadway safety, prevent crashes and protect all road users.
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