This week, the City of Indianapolis and IndyGo were awarded a $19.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to improve road safety.
Indianapolis was one of 254 communities selected to receive a portion of the $1 billion grant resulting from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law creating the Safe Streets and Roads for All program (SS4A).
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the largest long-term investment in our nation’s infrastructure, and it’s paying off right here in Indianapolis,” Congressman André Carson said.
The SS4A program provides grants to communities directly for planning and implementation of projects aimed at improving street safety.
“As a recipient of a grant through the Safe Streets and Roads for All program, Indianapolis can keep its focus on a future where none of our neighbors lose a loved one in a preventable traffic crash,” Mayor Joe Hogsett said. “This grant will allow us to make dramatic changes in the lives of many of our residents by ensuring that they feel safe any time they take a walk, ride their bike, or wait for public transit.”
The funding aligns with current projects in Indianapolis to improve road safety and infrastructure, like the Vision Zero ordinance, aiming at reducing pedestrian-involved accidents on roadways to zero.
“The transformative investment in our City’s infrastructure is another example of Indy DPW’s relentless approach to finding additional resources to make a positive impact in our community,” Indy DPW Director Brandon Herget said.
With the funding, the city will make improvements and install sidewalks and trails in the following areas:
- Post Road between Washington Street and 38th Street
- East 30th Street between Rural Street and Franklin Road
- Lynhurst Drive between Morris Street and West 22nd Street
- East 42nd Street between Franklin Road and Mitthoefer Road
- Franklin Road between 30th and 42nd Street
- Thompson Road between East Street and Madison Avenue
Also included in the funding is IndyGo bus stop improvements.
Contact Health & Environmental Reporter Hanna Rauworth at 317-762-7854 or follow her on Instagram at @hanna.rauworth.
This is good! Can we get some specifics on what will be done for each road? If there are places where they’re planning to improve safety by finding ways for cars to go faster, say adding extra car lanes or raising speed limits, we should know about those as they won’t actually improve safety.
Hi Ben! Thank you for these questions. Here is the exact phrasing from the press release regarding the specific improvements to each of these areas.
“With the SS4A funding, Indy DPW will bring critical safety improvements to six corridors within the city, many of which are in underserved areas lacking infrastructure for pedestrians, transit users, and bicyclists. The SS4A program’s grant money will fund the design, engineering, and construction in the following areas:
North Post Road Post Rd between Washington St & 38th St
East 30th Street E 30th St between Rural St & Franklin Rd
Lynhurst Drive Lynhurst Dr between Morris St & W 22nd St
East 42nd Street E 42nd St between Franklin Rd & Mitthoefer Rd
East Franklin Road Franklin Rd between 30th & 42nd St
East Thompson Road Thompson Rd between East St & Madison Ave
The grant will fund improvements and the installation of sidewalks, crosswalks, and trails in these corridors. Also included in this project are IndyGo bus stop improvements in areas near high ridership transit routes. Design work for these projects is set to begin in 2025.”
There has been no word on increased speed limits, extra car lanes, etc with this grant money. If there is a breakdown of the grant money, I will add that to my article and reply to this comment with any additional information.
Thanks for reading!
To the indianapolisrecorder.com webmaster, Great post!