A more than $25 million federal grant announced Thursday by the U.S. Department of Transportation will help the city of Bluefield make transportation easier for pedestrians, bicycle riders, wheelchair users and others who rely on local roadways.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced $25,748,152 in grants Thursday for West Virginia as part of $1 billion in grants through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program.
The city of Bluefield was awarded $25,547,532 for the Making Residents, Students, and Visitors Safer in the Education and Recreation District to make safety improvements to a key gateway into historic African American communities and entrance to Bluefield State University. The transportation infrastructure in the project area was built without consideration for people walking, biking, and rolling, and popular destinations do not include sidewalks or shoulders. Pedestrians, cyclists, and wheelchair users must share the road with minimal facilities for their travel.
The project will convert four key intersections to roundabouts, create pedestrian and bicycle accommodations through a strategic mountain gap, and make safety improvements that include implementing traffic-calming strategies and installing sidewalks, crosswalks, rectangular rapid-flashing beacons, and street lighting on selected corridors.
West Virginia also received $200,620 for a safety planning and demonstration project.
Through new funding programs like Safe Streets and Roads for All, the Biden-Harris Administration is helping communities of all sizes make their roadways safer for everyone who uses them,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “We should be energized by the fact that together we’ve reduced traffic fatalities for more than two years in a row now – but so much work remains to fully address the crisis on our roads. The roadway safety grants which were announced Thursday will deliver funding directly to 354 communities and continue the important work we’re doing to reduce traffic fatalities to the only number that’s acceptable: zero.”
U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, also spoke about Bluefield's federal grant.
Capito said that she authored a letter in support for Bluefield’s application for this project last May.
"As I was working to negotiate and craft the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, I knew there were substantial opportunities to improve aspects of West Virginia’s surface transportation infrastructure. U.S. Route 52 as it crosses through Bluefield is a transportation hub for the southern part of our state, and making key improvements will serve to both increase the safety of our residents and spur economic development opportunities within the city. I was proud to advocate for this project and I’m thrilled to secure the funding needed to get this initiative underway in Mercer County,” Capito said.