SEDAN – Governor Laura Kelly announced Chautauqua and Elk counties have been awarded $360,000 in federal funding in the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program. The funds will be used to help improve safety and prevent deaths and serious injuries on local roadways. Chautauqua County was the lead on the joint application with Elk County.
The two counties are among seven Kansas communities receiving a combined total of $1.47 million in funding through the SS4A program.
“Our counties intend to use this planning and demonstration grant to conduct outreach, data collection, analysis and other related tasks to develop a list of potential safety improvement projects,” said Mark McCall, Chautauqua County public works superintendent. “The plan itself will identify items for leadership commitment and goal setting that includes a timeline for eliminating roadway fatalities and fatal injuries.”
State funding provided by a Kansas SS4A Match Pilot Program will contribute 20% of the local match as required of grant recipients.
“No one can better pinpoint a community’s safety needs than the people who live and work there,” said Governor Kelly. “I commend these local governments for leveraging federal and state funding to create safety plans for their city streets and county roads.”
Administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Safe Streets and Roads for All is a five-year, $5 billion competitive grant program funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. SS4A projects stress responsible driving, safer roadway designs, appropriate speed limit setting and improved post-crash care. Nationwide for this fall 2023 funding announcement, the $82 million in SS4A grants is being directed to 235 regional, local and Tribal communities.
“Local commitment and regional collaboration were instrumental in bringing Safe Streets and Roads for All funds to Kansas,” said KDOT Secretary Calvin Reed. “KDOT’s help with local matching funds is indicative of the importance the agency places of safety and our long-term goal of reaching zero roadway fatalities.” The SS4A program is structured so the federal government covers 80% of the planning and demonstration grant costs, and the local government covers 20%. The Kansas Department of Transportation agreed to cover some or all of the local matches to encourage participation. To have the full 20% covered by KDOT, agencies had to represent a rural area of the state.
Other Kansas communities receiving SS4A grants include the cities of Eureka, Hutchinson, Newton and Russell, and Shawnee County. The USDOT expects to announce additional FY23 awards in December.
Below is an overview of the fall 2023 awarded projects in Kansas from the SS4A program:
|
Grant Awardee
|
Award Amount
|
% Match from KDOT
|
|
Chautauqua County*
|
$360,000
|
20%
|
|
City of El Dorado
|
$160,000
|
15%
|
|
City of Eureka
|
$140,000
|
15%
|
|
City of Hutchinson
|
$160,000
|
10%
|
|
City of Newton*
|
$320,000
|
15%
|
|
City of Russell
|
$160,000
|
15%
|
|
Shawnee County
|
$168,000
|
10%
|
|
Kansas Total
|
$1,468,000
|
|
* Indicates awardee was the lead applicant for a multijurisdictional application.
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This information can be made available in alternative accessible formats upon request. For information about obtaining an alternative format, contact the KDOT Division of Communications, 700 SW Harrison St., 2nd Floor West, Topeka, KS 66603-3745 or phone 785-296-3585 Voice/Hearing Impaired – 711.