County applies for Safe Streets for All grant; commissioners allocate local bond and road funds to match

Williamson County Commissioners on June 3 voted 4-0 to apply for a federal Safe Streets for All (SS4A) grant and to commit local matching funds drawn from the county's 2023 road bonds and road-and-bridge funds for projects in partnership with Cedar Park, Round Rock, Georgetown and Taylor.

Commissioner Covey described the application and a county match allocation. The SS4A request is part of a larger package of regional safety projects; Commissioner Covey said the county's match includes $1,320,000 from the 2023 road bonds for work on the Southwest Bypass/I-35 interchange and an additional $426,400 from the road and bridge budget. Covey said the total program is approximately $28 million across partners with $20 million expected from federal funding and $8 million in local matches, with cities contributing about $6.25 million.

Covey thanked regional planning partners and noted that CAMPO's safety study helped identify candidate projects. He said the county seeks grant funds to improve roadway safety, pedestrian crossings and intersection geometry, and to coordinate projects intended to reduce crashes and improve emergency response and pedestrian safety.

Commissioners emphasized projects to clear crashes quickly and to coordinate with TxDOT on auxiliary-lane work; the auxiliary lane itself was not included in the SS4A grant but will be pursued with TxDOT as a related improvement. The court's motion to apply and commit the local match carried 4-0.

Ending: County staff will proceed with the grant application and coordinate with partner cities and TxDOT on project design and matching-fund allocations if the grant is awarded.