OPPORTUNITY REPORT:

$993 Million Available for Transportation Safety Infrastructure

March 30, 2026

KEY INFORMATION

Opportunity Number: DOT-SS4A-FY26-01

Agency: Department of Transportation

Total Program Funding: $993,488,194

Cost Share: 20% minimum

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Safe Streets and Roads For All (SS4A) grants are to support planning, infrastructure, and behavioral and operational initiatives to prevent fatalities and serious injuries on roads and streets involving all roadway users. The SS4A program provides funding for two main types of grants: Planning and Demonstration Grants and Implementation Grants. This is the final round of funding for the program until new funding is appropriated.

The Department of Transportation is placing a priority on Public Safety Infrastructure. SS4A award recipients from all previous years are eligible to apply in FY26. Each eligible jurisdiction may submit only one application for FY26.

Planning and Demonstration Grants

Expected funding range: $100,000 to $5,000,000

Expected number of awards: 400 to 700

Planning and Demonstration Grants are used to develop, complete, or supplement an Action Plan, as well as carry out safety demonstration activities that inform an Action Plan.
The goal of an Action Plan is to develop a well-defined strategy to prevent roadway fatalities and serious injuries in a locality, region, or on Tribal Lands at a broad, system-wide geography
Demonstration activities inform an Action Plan by testing proposed project and strategy approaches to determine their potential benefits and future scope.

Implementation Grants

Expected funding range: $2,500,000 to $25,000,000

Expected number of awards: 40 to 70

Implementation Grants are used to implement strategies or projects that are consistent with an existing Action Plan.
Applicants must have an existing plan that is substantially similar to an Action Plan and has been finalized and/or last updated between 2021 and May 26, 2026.

$38.6M in additional FY26 funding appropriated
Updates rating rubrics for the statutory merit criteria
New priority for projects located in Qualified Opportunity Zones, projects that incorporate innovative technology, and projects that support national multimodal freight goals
Removes Workforce Development as a selection consideration
Shore power projects are no longer automatically considered to meet the statutory requirement of enhancing safety, efficiency, or reliability in the movement of goods

FUNDING PRIORITIES

DOT is prioritizing projects that will:

Promote safety to prevent fatal and serious injuries on public roadways;
Employ low-cost, high-impact strategies that can improve safety over a wide geographic area;
Ensure equitable investment in the safety needs of underserved communities, which includes both underserved urban and rural communities;
Beautifying transportation infrastructure with context-appropriate design and/or child-friendly elements;
Advance eligible truck parking with a clear roadway safety nexus;
Incorporate evidence-based projects and strategies and adopt innovative technologies and strategies; and
Demonstrate engagement with a variety of public and private stakeholders.

Additionally, applications will be more competitive if they:

Beautify transportation infrastructure with context-appropriate design and/or child-friendly elements;
Advance eligible truck parking with a clear roadway safety nexus; or
Modernize public safety infrastructure, including prehospital blood transfusion capabilities, and improve post-crash care

INELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES

Projects and strategies whose primary purpose is not roadway safety
Projects and strategies exclusively focused on non-roadway modes of transportation, including air, rail, marine, and pipeline
Capital projects to construct new roadways used for motor vehicles
Infrastructure projects primarily intended to expand capacity to improve Levels of Service for motorists on an existing roadway
Maintenance activities for an existing roadway primarily to maintain a state of good repair
Development or implementation of a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

Eligible entities include:

Metropolitan planning organizations
Political subdivisions of a State or territory (e.g., cities, towns, counties)
Federally recognized Tribal governments
A multijurisdictional group of entities listed above

An eligible applicant for an Implementation Grant must also meet at least one of the following conditions:

Have ownership and/or maintenance responsibilities over a roadway network;
Have safety responsibilities that affect roadways; or
Have an agreement in the form of a signed letter, MOU, or other documentation from the agency that has ownership and/or maintenance responsibilities for the roadway within the applicant’s jurisdiction.