FHWA Safety Grant Products

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Work Zone Safety Grant Program offers a wide variety of products, publications, and training resources for roadway construction industry practitioners. These guidelines, training, and other resources help save lives and prevent injuries. New resources are introduced regularly, so check for updates.

How Does the Program Work? 

Nonprofit and not-for-profit organizations are grant recipients that are competitively selected and then conduct activities under one or more of the three emphasis areas: 

• Area 1: Training for construction workers 
• Area 2: Development of guidelines to help improve work zone safety 
• Area 3: Training for state and local governments, transportation agencies, and other groups implementing the guidelines. 

Each grant recipient identifies topics and subject areas for development; FHWA also provides input on final topic areas to better coordinate between grantees. In some instances, topics addressed within products are similar, but tailored for a specific audience or developed in alternative formats. To help identify specific needs, the following sources have provided information: 

• Grant team industry knowledge brainstorming sessions. 
• Practitioner panel-facilitated sessions that included FHWA, state departments of transportation, consultants, and academia. 
• Feedback from a series of practitioner workshops. 
• Practitioner surveys to prioritize identified topics. 

Who Are the Grant Recipients? 

To date, twelve organizations have received funding under the Work Zone Safety Grant Program: 

• American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA)
• American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA)
• Illinois Institute of Technology
• Iowa State University
• Laborer’s Health & Safety Fund of North America (LHSFNA)/ARTBA
• Michigan State University
• University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)
• University of Massachusetts (Amherst)
• University of Missouri
• University of South Florida
• University of Wisconsin (Madison)
• Wayne State University

Background 

The FHWA Work Zone Safety Grant Program was established in 2005 through Section 1409 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users. Originally funded with $20 million over four years, the program supported nonprofit and not-for-profit organizations in developing guidelines and providing training to prevent and reduce work zone injuries and fatalities. In 2016, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act allocated more than $40 million to extend the program. Most recently, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) of 2021, provided over $50 million in additional funding to continue the program.