Feds give local governments money to craft plans to make roads safer

In coming years, drivers in Hennepin County could encounter more road designs intended to keep them safe.

Roundabouts, intersections with shorter pedestrian crossings and four-lane roads with one travel lane in each direction and a shared center lane for left turns are among changes that could be considered as the county puts together a plan to reduce crashes that result in serious injuries and deaths. This month, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the county a $240,000 Safe Streets and Roads for All grant to begin crafting a Toward Zero Deaths action plan.

Eleven other cities and counties in Minnesota also received a slice of the $2.4 million coming to the state, according to the federal agency. The money can be used to plan or implement projects.

In Hennepin County, crashes causing a serious injury or death are at the highest levels of the past five years. In the past two years, 272 serious crashes have occurred on county roads. Of those, 31 resulted in at least one death.

"We have seen numbers trend the wrong direction, and we don't want to accept crashes as a cost of mobility," said Tom Musick, coordinator of the county's Transportation Safety Program. "It's exciting to see federal support for road safety."

Although a focus on safety is not new, Musick said the county could bring in a consultant to evaluate the 2,200-mile road system to learn where and why crashes are happening, then devise short-term and mid- and long-term plans to bring numbers down.

"That's what the money is for," Musick said. "How do we get the message out to drive safely?"

St. Louis Park plans to use its $160,000 grant for a plan that will include reviewing its entire road network, said spokeswoman Jacque Smith.

The west metro city also will seek input from community members to identify high risk areas and use the results to develop a prioritized list of specific short-, mid- and long-term projects and strategies, Smith said.

Columbia Heights will develop a citywide safety action plan to address safety concerns at intersections and on corridors throughout the city for motorized and nonmotorized traffic, said Assistant City Engineer Sulmaan Khan.

Eagan, Elk River, Monticello, Red Wing, Willmar and Woodbury, plus the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, the St. Louis County Public Works Department and the Rochester-Olmsted Council of Governments also received money.

The grants funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law come as more than 42,900 people died in traffic crashes in 2021, the most in 16 years, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Preliminary data shows 2022 was just as deadly.

"We are proud that these grants will directly support hundreds of communities as they prepare steps that are proven to make roadways safer and save lives," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement announcing the grants.