USDOT Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grants

Why this belongs in the FindMyMoney directory

Traffic fatalities in the United States remain stubbornly high, and community demand for Vision Zero investments keeps rising. Yet until now, the FindMyMoney catalog lacked USDOT’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program—the federal government’s signature local safety grant created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. SS4A is the go-to funding stream for cities, counties, Tribal nations, and regional planning organizations seeking to build protected bike lanes, redesign dangerous corridors, expand safe routes to school, or deploy traffic calming. The program’s popularity is staggering: USDOT has awarded over $5 billion across its first three funding rounds, and annual Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) regularly attract thousands of applications. Leaving SS4A off the list meant local governments, non-profits partnering with them, and consultants missed a playbook for one of the most requested infrastructure opportunities in the country.

Adding SS4A fills a crucial gap for communities looking to translate Vision Zero commitments into funded projects. These grants do more than pour concrete—they cover data analysis, community engagement, quick-build pilots, and workforce development for traffic safety professionals. They also create on-ramps for historically under-resourced jurisdictions via smaller planning awards and targeted technical assistance. With USDOT focusing on equity, climate resilience, and speed management, SS4A is likely to remain a headline grant for the next five years. Understanding how to navigate its requirements can unlock transformative investments in safer streets.

Program overview

• Two grant tracks: Planning and Demonstration Grants help jurisdictions create or refine Comprehensive Safety Action Plans (CSAPs) and pilot quick-build improvements. Implementation Grants fund physical and technological interventions once a qualifying plan exists.
• Funding ranges: Planning awards typically range from $200,000 to $5 million, with a $10 million cap for multi-jurisdiction coalitions. Implementation awards range from $3 million to $25 million for single applicants, and up to $50 million for regional coalitions.
• Cost share: Standard federal share is 80%. High-need applicants (defined via fatality rates or equity metrics) can request up to 100% federal funding. Documenting financial hardship and community vulnerability is essential for higher cost shares.
• Eligible activities: Road diets, raised crosswalks, roundabouts, automated enforcement pilot technology, complete streets retrofits, safe routes to school expansions, transit stop safety upgrades, data systems, Vision Zero staffing, public education campaigns, and evaluation.
• Timeline: NOFO typically released in April or May with applications due 60–90 days later. Awards announced in fall. Projects must obligate funds within three years and complete within five years.

Eligibility pathway

1. Lead applicant: Must be a political subdivision or Tribal government. Nonprofits, universities, or consultants can partner but cannot lead.
2. Comprehensive Safety Action Plan: Implementation applicants must demonstrate they have a qualifying plan adopted within the past five years. Plans must include analysis of safety problems, engagement strategy, high-injury network identification, proven countermeasures, and transparent reporting structures. Planning grants finance the creation of such plans.
3. Data-driven justification: Applicants must use crash, fatality, and injury data to show elevated risk. Integration with USDOT’s Safety Data Portal or local open data platforms strengthens proposals.
4. Equity and inclusion: Projects must benefit underserved communities. USDOT encourages the use of its Equity Action Plan framework and Justice40 screening tools. Partnerships with community-based organizations (CBOs) bolster scoring.

Crafting a high-scoring application

1. Build a compelling problem statement

Use GIS maps to overlay high-injury networks, income data, school zones, transit ridership, and freight routes. Quantify social costs: hospitalizations, lost wages, carbon emissions from congestion. Connect qualitative narratives—e.g., “Residents in Ward 7 walk in the travel lane because there is no sidewalk”—to quantitative crash hot spots. Tie these to national goals like USDOT’s National Roadway Safety Strategy.

2. Assemble a multidisciplinary team

Include transportation engineers, public health officials, emergency responders, school district reps, disability advocates, and small business owners. Attach letters of commitment from each partner specifying roles. Demonstrate that you can manage federal funds with clear project management structures and procurement policies.

3. Line up matching funds (even if optional)

Even when seeking 100% federal share, document contingency matches from local capital budgets, state safety funds, or philanthropic dollars. It signals fiscal readiness and can cover costs that SS4A will not, such as maintenance or public art features.

4. Integrate quick-build and long-term strategies

USDOT favors applications that pair fast, low-cost interventions (modular curb extensions, hardened centerlines) with long-term capital projects (complete street reconstruction). Outline a phased approach with timelines, budgets, and expected crash reductions for each phase.

5. Address Safe System principles

Frame your project around the Safe System approach: safer people, safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds, and post-crash care. For example, pair infrastructure upgrades with driver education, automated speed enforcement, and partnerships with trauma centers to improve emergency response times.

6. Embed robust evaluation

Commit to before-and-after data collection—speed studies, near-miss analysis via computer vision, community surveys, and crash rate monitoring. Budget for consultants or university partners to conduct rigorous evaluation, and describe how insights will inform future capital plans.

7. Demonstrate procurement readiness

Implementation grants demand proof that you can obligate funds quickly. Provide a procurement timeline, list of pre-qualified contractors, environmental review status (NEPA), and right-of-way acquisitions. If NEPA is pending, show how you will complete it within 12 months. Mention whether projects qualify as Categorical Exclusions.

Execution and compliance tips

• Use USDOT technical assistance. The Thriving Communities and SS4A technical assistance centers offer webinars, templates, and office hours. Engage early to refine project scopes.
• Bundle projects into logical corridors. Instead of scattered spot improvements, package treatments along an entire high-injury corridor. This simplifies procurement and amplifies safety benefits.
• Prioritize speed management. USDOT is laser-focused on lowering operating speeds. Include design elements like raised intersections, chicanes, or automated speed enforcement. Provide evidence from NACTO or FHWA design guides demonstrating expected crash reductions.
• Coordinate with state DOTs. If projects touch state-owned roads, secure letters of concurrence. Early buy-in avoids delays during obligation.
• Plan for maintenance. SS4A funds construction but not ongoing maintenance. Document commitments from public works departments, Business Improvement Districts, or adopt-a-street programs to maintain infrastructure.
• Ensure community ownership. Budget stipends for community ambassadors, translation services, and pop-up workshops. Show how resident feedback shaped design alternatives.

Advanced strategies for seasoned applicants

Leverage parallel funding streams

Combine SS4A with Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE), Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), and Carbon Reduction Program dollars. Use SS4A planning to feed HSIP project lists, then pursue implementation funding across programs. Document these interlocks to prove long-term financing.

Deploy data science

Use LIDAR scans, cell-phone speed data, and computer vision analytics (e.g., Transoft Safety, HaydenAI) to quantify risk. Propose real-time dashboards that integrate crash reports, 311 complaints, and equity metrics. Cutting-edge analytics impress reviewers and set you up for future Smart Grants.

Elevate micromobility and freight

Highlight how your project accommodates emerging modes—cargo bikes, delivery robots, autonomous shuttles—while protecting pedestrians. Outline curb management pilots, loading zone sensors, or micro-distribution hubs that reduce double-parking and conflicts.

Build capacity in rural contexts

For rural counties, emphasize how SS4A will establish the first ever safety action plan, hire a dedicated traffic engineer, and deploy low-cost countermeasures like rumble strips or solar-powered speed feedback signs. Reference FHWA’s Proven Safety Countermeasures to show evidence-based selections.

Prepare for federal audits

Set up grant management software or spreadsheets tracking budget lines, invoices, labor hours, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) participation. Document Title VI compliance, Buy America waivers, and environmental justice outreach. Clean audit trails support future applications for MEGA and INFRA grants.

Practical timeline template

1. 0–3 months pre-NOFO: Convene stakeholders, update crash data, review existing plans, identify corridors.
2. NOFO release: Analyze eligibility, decide on planning vs. implementation, assign writing leads.
3. Weeks 1–4: Draft narrative, cost estimates, letters of support. Conduct community listening sessions.
4. Weeks 5–8: Finalize benefit-cost analysis, Safe System sections, and budget forms (SF-424, SF-424A, SF-424B). Secure council resolutions authorizing application and matching funds.
5. Submission: Upload via Grants.gov. Monitor for validation errors.
6. Post-submission: Prepare for USDOT clarifications. Line up procurement documents so you can hit the ground running when awards are announced.

Example concept

A coalition of three Georgia counties uses a $22 million implementation grant to convert a high-speed suburban arterial into a complete street. They:

• Install median refuge islands, separated bike lanes, and high-visibility crosswalks at 12 intersections.
• Deploy adaptive signal control with transit signal priority for bus rapid transit lines.
• Launch a speed safety camera pilot in school zones, paired with a public education campaign in Spanish and Vietnamese.
• Partner with a trauma center to reduce emergency response times by 20%.
• Hire 12 community ambassadors to lead workshops and gather post-implementation feedback. Within three years, fatal and serious injury crashes drop by 45%, transit ridership climbs 18%, and the corridor attracts $200 million in mixed-use development. The county leverages SS4A documentation to secure additional HSIP funds for neighboring corridors.

SS4A is a cornerstone grant for any jurisdiction serious about eliminating traffic deaths. Its absence from FindMyMoney limited users’ ability to pursue transformational safety funding. With this comprehensive guide, practitioners now have the insights needed to craft winning applications, accelerate project delivery, and build safer streets for every road user.