…thanks to $24.8 million from the US Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program. Established in 2022 by President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law, the program is awarding $800 million to support local initiatives aimed at reducing road deaths and injuries. The discretionary grants will fund 510 projects, the majority of which will help local governments and tribal communities come up with their own road safety action plans, the agency announced on Wednesday.

This is the first round of funding: In total, the program sets aside a record $5 billion over five years, with the next funding opportunity of $1.1 billion set to be released in April.

For advocates of infrastructure-based safety improvements, the USDOT announcement represents a welcome shift from the usual federal approach to funding, which is typically disbursed to state transportation departments — and often allocated toward highway construction — instead of to local areas most in need.