County Awarded $25 Million for Road Safety Projects

Pinned on concrete curb bump-outs on W. Congress Street at N. 55th Street. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Milwaukee County a $25 million grant for road safety projects across the county.

The grant was awarded through the Safe Streets and Roads for All program. Since 2022, Milwaukee County Department of Transportation officials have worked through a series of steps to make the county eligible for a $5 billion pool of federal road funding appropriated through the bipartisan infrastructure law.

Officials spent months collecting extensive public input and developed a comprehensive planning document with more than 500 potential traffic safety projects across the county. The $25 million grant will allow the county to tackle 67 projects, according to a statement from Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley‘s office.

The projects will target dangerous roadways and intersections identified in corridors with high rates of fatal and serious injury crashes. Planners estimate the projects could reduce these crashes by 26%–50% along 10 of the 25 dangerous traffic corridors identified during planning.

“I am proud my administration secured new funding that will save lives along our most hazardous roads and intersections by addressing speeding – the number one reason people die in crashes,” said County Executive Crowley. “Tackling this serious  public safety issue is a collaborative effort. I’m grateful to our federal partners for joining us to support our Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2037.

In 2024, as part of the planning process for the federal program, the county committed to a Vision Zero policy, to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on county roadways.

The roadway interventions will improve pedestrian infrastructure with new crosswalks, walk signals, bump outs, traffic signalizations and sidewalk expansion. Traffic calming measures will be built out along the 16th Street viaduct, the 27th Street viaduct and the 35th Street viaduct.

The projects are located in the City of Milwaukee, the City of West Allis, the City of Glendale, the Village of Brown Deer, the Village of Shorewood and along multiple County Trunk Highways. Municipalities will manage the projects in their jurisdiction and provide 20% matching funds.

“This funding will allow the City of Milwaukee to deliver critical safety improvements to some of the most dangerous corridors in the City, including State highways. We value our partnership with Milwaukee County and appreciate the federal support as we work together to make streets in the City and County safer for everyone,” said Mayor Cavalier Johnson.