The area’s regional planning body has been awarded a large grant from the federal government to create a strategy to make roads safer for vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists. The Thomas Jefferson Planning District is one of 18 entities that will receive funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program.
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) established the new Safe Streets and Roads for All discretionary grant program to provide $5 billion over five years for regional, local, and Tribal initiatives to make the nation’s roadways safer for everyone,” reads a press release that went out this afternoon.
The project will prioritize potential safety projects in all six of the TJPDC localities to help reduce fatalities and injuries in both urban and rural settings. Those localities will also have to contribute a collective $214,000 in local matches.
At one point, Albemarle County was not going to participate in the project but Supervisors directed them to do so last September.
Two other projects in the Fifth District are:
- $280,000 for the Central Virginia Planning District Commission Safety Action Plan
- $160,000 for the West Piedmont Planning District Commission / Danville Metropolitan Planning Organization
The award to the TJPDC is the second largest in Virginia, second only to $992,000 for the Prince William County Comprehensive Safety Action Plan.
Another round of funding from the program is expected to be released in April.
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