WA Communities Get $24M For Projects to Reduce Traffic Deaths

10.30.26 WA Communities Get $24M For Projects to Reduce Traffic Deaths City of Seattle gets $9.6M to make high-injury streets safer; Bellingham, Toppenish, Clark County, Island County, Snohomish County, and Swinomish Tribe also receive funds EDMONDS, WA – Today U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee announced seven grants totaling $24,561,459 for roadway safety projects in Washington state. The funding comes from the Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program, a program Sen. Cantwell authored. “Fatalities on our roadways are preventable,” said Sen. Cantwell. “Since the creation of the Safe Streets and Roads for All program, the State of Washington’s roadway fatality rate has decreased by 15%. Still, 625 people died on our state’s roadways last year, so our work is not done. This investment will build on progress we’ve made and help improve safety for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians alike in communities across our state.” Here’s a breakdown of today’s grant announcements: The City of Seattle will receive $9,675,459 to implement safety improvements at 6 high-injury locations through high-friction surface treatment on 4 corridors and signalized intersection upgrades at 2 intersections. Planned work includes improvements to reduce skidding and improve traction on Rainier Avenue South, Highland Park Way Southwest, Southwest Roxbury Street and Olson Place Southwest, and Westlake Avenue North, plus signal rebuilds at 4th Avenue South and South Main Street and 4th Avenue South and South Jackson Street with 12-inch signal heads, retroreflective backplates, accessible pedestrian signals, emergency vehicle preemption, and longer leading pedestrian intervals. Between 2019 and 2023, the 4 high-friction surface treatment locations recorded 231 total crashes and the 2 intersections recorded 73 total crashes, including multiple serious injury and fatal crashes. The project addresses roadway departure, wet-weather, red-light running, and pedestrian crash risks that contribute to fatal and serious injury crashes, especially during low-light and winter conditions. Sen. Cantwell wrote a letter of support for the project. Clark County Fire District No. 3 will receive $4,720,892 to test a prehospital blood transfusion program and develop an interoperable post-crash care data framework across Clark County. Work includes deploying blood products and transfusion workflows, linking 9-1-1, dispatch, law enforcement, emergency medical services, and hospital data, and evaluating treatment timelines, survival outcomes, and replication potential to inform future Action Plan initiatives. Island County will receive $4,536,000 to widen shoulders and other safety improvements on State Route 20 between Race Road and approximately 0.5 mile north of Welcher Road . The project will add paved shoulders to a minimum of 4 feet, improve drainage, install wet-reflective pavement markings and enhanced curve signage, and make minor geometric improvements to reduce roadway departure risk. High-injury network and lane departure crashes in this corridor accounted for approximately 52% of fatal and serious injury crashes in the region between 2019 and 2023. The City of Bellingham will receive $2,759,206 to help emergency vehicles reach their destinations faster by implementing a citywide Global Positioning System-based system giving first responders traffic signal priority at intersections. The project will upgrade signal infrastructure, install communications and software systems, equip emergency vehicles, and modernize controllers to improve emergency vehicle progression and post-crash care operations. It addresses delays and conflicts at intersections on routes connected to the high-injury network. The City of Toppenish will receive $1,494,902 to implement Calmer Crossroads, a package of safety improvements on State Route 22 between Track Road and Asotin Avenue and Washington Avenue. The project will reduce stop sign violations and install concrete center medians, high-visibility crosswalks, and pedestrian crossings. The project will also fund railroad-specific signing and pavement markings, pavement and striping improvements, and an emergency signal near Yakima County Fire District 5 Station 9. The corridor is the City’s highest-priority unfunded high-injury network location in its Action Plan, and experienced 22 reported crashes between 2018 and 2022, including 1 fatality and 4 serious-injury pedestrian crashes. The improvements address speeding, nighttime visibility, unsafe turning movements, and queue-jumping near the BNSF rail crossing. Sen. Cantwell wrote a letter of support for the project. Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue will receive $1,000,000 to conduct a 3-year demonstration program to increase the effectiveness of first responders by facilitating more field blood transfusions. The project will address delayed post-crash care on high-risk corridors and in rural areas. Results will inform future roadway safety planning and post-crash care strategies. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community will receive $375,000 for a project to update its Transportation Safety Action Plan and conduct demonstration activities on tribal roads and state highway access points. Work includes updating the high-injury network, performance measures, and countermeasure framework, and testing retroreflective delineators, speed feedback signs, crosswalk enhancements, and 6 multimodal sensors on Reservation Road, Snee-Oosh Road, and State Route 20 access locations to address severe crashes related to darkness, speeding, and visibility. Sen. Cantwell authored the Safe Streets and Roads for All program, steered its authorization of the program through the Commerce Committee, and ensured that the program was among the transportation investments included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Safe Streets and Roads for All grants help local governments carry out Vision Zero plans and other improvements to reduce crashes and fatalities, including for cyclists and pedestrians. Data about Washington state traffic collisions and fatalities broken down by city and county is available HERE . Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article