• Hazard Elimination and Safety grants help keep roads in good conditionIrish Roads image by Rebs O from Fotolia.com
  
  The U.S. Department of Transportation, through the Transportation Equity Act (TEA) for the 21st Century, supplies funding to states for hazard elimination and highway safety. According to TEA, the formula for grant apportionment is based on total federal-aid highway miles in the state, total vehicle miles and estimated tax payments paid by users into the federal Highway Trust Fund.
  
  

Hazard Elimination Program

• This federal program provides grants for safety improvements on the nation's public highways, whether major or local roadways. States receive funding through the TEA formula, and their departments of transportation disburse the monies after reviewing local applications and prioritizing the safety issues. According to statute, among the eligible hazard elimination programs are guardrail/barrier improvement or installation, roadway alignment modification, pavement grooving, rumble strips on road shoulders, signage, crash cushion installation, traffic signalization, skid-resistant overlays and road widening.
  
  

Railway Crossing Hazard Elimination

• Through the Highway Safety Infrastructure program, the TEA includes authorized amounts of grant funding for both the Railway/Highway Crossing Hazard Elimination in High Speed Rail Corridors program and the Railway/Highway Crossings Program. These programs are designed for reduction of fatalities and accidents at local railroad grade crossings or for certain areas with high-speed rail. Funding includes improvements at these intersections.
  
  

Rural Users

• The Federal Highway Administration (FHA) recognizes that residents of rural America have disproportionate highway safety issues. According to the FHA, approximately 80 percent of U.S. roadways go through rural locales, close to 60 percent of fatalities occur there and the fatality rate is twice as high as in urban areas. Grants are available for various projects to eliminate hazards and increase safety. Eligible activities include improved police traffic services, emergency medical services, traffic recording systems and motorcycle/other vehicle crash reduction projects.