News
August 26, 2008
harkin announces $500,000 for transportation improvements in rural iowa
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation had awarded a grant of $500,000 to the Iowa Department of Transportation. The funding will be used to promote the Rural Safety Innovation Program by upgrading software to a web-based system, heightening awareness and interest in rural safety issues, and promoting the benefits of rural safety countermeasures, which can reduce rural crashes and fatalities nationwide.
“Rural areas face tremendous challenges, but improving transportation in these regions strengthens infrastructure, prevents loss of population and improves the lives of countless residents,” said Harkin. “The Rural Safety Innovation Program has an important mission and this funding will further that mission for all Iowans.”
The primary objectives of the Rural Safety Innovation Program are to:
- Improve safety on local and rural roads with innovative approaches in which rural communities develop and design local solutions to their roadway safety problems.
- Provide best practices and lessons learned on innovative safety technologies to assist local and rural road owners and operators in the development and implementation of infrastructure-based rural safety countermeasures that complement behavioral safety efforts.
- Promote national awareness and interest in addressing rural safety issues.
- Promote the use of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technologies to improve safety on rural roads.
