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, nine organizations have received funding under the Work Zone Safety Grant Program: 

• American Traffic Safety Services Administration 2006 – 2016  
• American Road and Transportation Builders Association 2006 – 2016  
• Wayne State University 2006 – 2016  
• Illinois Institute of Technology 2006 
• University of Texas at Arlington 2013 
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2013 – 2016  
• University of Wisconsin–Madison 2013 – 2016  
• Oklahoma State University 2016 
• Iowa State University 2016 

Background 

The FHWA Work Zone Safety Grant Program was established in 2005 through Section 1409 of the Safe Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users. This initial 4-year, $20 million program provided funds to nonprofit and not-for-profit organizations to develop guidelines and provide training to prevent and reduce work zone injuries and fatalities. In years since, and most recently under 2016’s Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, additional funds have been allocated to continue the Work Zone Safety Grant Program, totaling more than $40 million as of 2017.