More than $2 million is coming to Connecticut in an effort to make the roads safer.
The funds are part of the president's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which includes the Safer Streets and Roads for All Grant Program.
On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced a historic $800 million in grant awards for 510 projects across the country.
Connecticut is set to receive six grants that aim to help communities plan or implement road safety strategies.
Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters.
According to data collected by the state's Department of Transportation, 2022 marked the deadliest year on Connecticut roads in decades.
"When we look at the data, that includes people in vehicles that includes pedestrians, all the numbers went up in 2022 compared to the previous year," said DOT spokesperson Josh Morgan.
And it's a crisis people see on a regular basis.
Local
"People just drive too fast down it. So, they need to figure out a way to slow down. They add another stop sign down there because I see it," Danny Scarpellino said.
He owns a restaurant called Scarpellino's on what he calls an "unlucky corner" in New Haven. Last summer, his restaurant was the site of a serious crash after the driver crashed into the building.
"When I got here the car had pushed the walls down into the foyer and destroyed my kitchen," Scarpellino said.
The president's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law aims to provide $5 billion over the next five years to redesign roads, sidewalks and crosswalks as well as focus on preventing deaths on the nation's roadways.
"We've lost in the last two and half years, 21 residents or visitors that are pedestrians and cyclists because of dangerous driving," New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said.
The U.S. DOT is awarding six action planning grants to help improve roadway safety in Connecticut. The applicants receiving awards are:
- Capitol Region Council of Governments
- City of New Haven
- City of Torrington
- Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments
- Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments
- Town of Westport
"Now this funding is going to be used to help implement on that plan. And what's great about this funding is that it will allow us to install a lot of small improvements in neighborhoods throughout the city. To help protect the most vulnerable units. And this specific funding will go into infrastructure improvements, smaller projects like speed humps and bike lanes," Elicker said.
Happening Thursday, the Federal Highway Administration will award more than $21 million to 70 tribes to improve road safety on tribal lands. This includes the need to better pedestrian crossings.
