03.13.24

City of Bellevue and Yakama Nation Get $2.9M to Improve Traffic Safety

Funding comes from SMART Grant Program, which Cantwell fought to secure in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced the City of Bellevue and the Confederated Tribes and Band of the Yakama Nation will receive Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) grants to improve traffic safety.

“Investments in smart infrastructure are a win for public safety. Advanced sensors at intersections will help keep pedestrians safe in Bellevue,” said Sen. Cantwell. “The Yakama Nation’s new alert system along US-97 will analyze real-time weather and traffic patterns to identify high-risk crash locations and automatically alert drivers to dangerous driving conditions, improving safety on one of the state’s most dangerous highways.”

City of Bellevue - $ 1,426,531: Funding will go towards Bellevue’s Real-time Traffic Signal Safety Intervention (RTSSI) Project. This grant will allow the city to deploy sensors and smart traffic signals to make real-time safety improvements at intersections, focused on protecting elderly pedestrians.

Confederated Tribes and Band of the Yakama Nation - $ 1,525,133:  Funding will go towards improving roadway and intersection safety for tribal and communities by deploying a sensing and alerting system on US-97 to collect key safety and road condition data and send safety messages in real time.

As the chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Sen. Cantwell has long been a champion of investment in Washington state’s transportation infrastructure. In the first two years of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the state has received $5.3 billion for 1,192 transportation projects across the state.

In 2021, Sen. Cantwell fought to include $500 million in the BIL for the SMART Grant Program to help states, cities, and localities pursue smart transportation projects that increase transportation efficiency and safety, and advance connected vehicles, intelligent transportation systems integration, and support technological transportation advancements in communities nationwide. The program was authorized as part of Sen. Cantwell’s bipartisan S. 2016, Surface Transportation Investment Act, which was included in the BIL.  

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