Safety Contingency Funds

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), is an investment into the United States’ transportation infrastructure and an effort to improve the safety of citizens when they are traveling on our roadways. The BIL will provide roughly $16 billion to the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) over the next five years. With the additional funding becoming available to states, construction projects will be launched across the country, and more road construction workers will be out in the open. That is why contractors for these projects must be aware of the safety contingency funds available to protect those in highway work zones.



State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) now have access to federal funds that will cover 100 percent of certain safety items, such as pavement markings and rumble strips. Additionally, the BIL includes “provisions that provide safety contingency funds to incorporate safety enhancements to work zones before or during roadway construction activities.” This means specific funds can be acquired before or even during construction to purchase and implement safety measures.

Unforeseen Work Zone Safety Concerns

It is not uncommon for unforeseen safety concerns to be discovered after a bid is chosen and construction has begun. Previously, if this situation were to occur, there would simply be no funding left to handle the concern, and workers would be left without protection and vulnerable. Now, work zone safety contingency funding can provide the additional capital needed to purchase the necessary safety equipment or protective countermeasures. A project can be underway, and the state DOT can still apply for the funds even if they were not accounted for in the original bid documents.

Items that the safety contingency fund can cover include:

- The repair of potholes caused by heavy machinery used during construction

- Portable signage to provide advanced warnings of traffic changes

- Hiring off-duty police officers to assist with traffic control signals

- Work zone intelligent transportation systems (ITS)

- Portable rumble strips or mobile barriers

Adding a “Safety Allowance”

Now that states are becoming increasingly aware of the availability of safety funding, state DOTs are encouraging project engineers to incorporate it into their project estimates. By doing so, you can avoid the time required for processing and approving the request, and the safety concern can be addressed quickly and efficiently. It is impossible to accurately predict the exact work zone conditions during a

project's planning and design stage, which is why this additional line item can help bridge the gap. Having the funds immediately available avoids delayed timelines, and projects can stay on track and in motion while permanent change orders are sought.



Texas DOT Construction Division

The state of Texas has been adding a “safety allowance” line item for several years now so that safety measures can be implemented at a moment's notice once a safety concern has been identified. They ask project engineers to include an additional 2-5% of the total project estimate in their final bid to account for this “allowance”.

Funding allows states to provide the necessary equipment to protect their roadway workers. In fiscal year 2019, the Texas DOT used the funds on over 500 projects across the state, adding up to over $17 million. This has grown significantly since the state initially began utilizing the safety contingency funds in 2013 and will continue to grow now that the federal share will cover 100 percent of safety items.

Raising State Awareness

The American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) is using its resources as an organization to raise awareness about the available safety contingency funding that many states do not currently know about. Thanks to their efforts, the number of states using the funds has tripled. With more states taking advantage of this important funding, state DOTs can better protect their road construction workers as they improve the roadways for the safety of all users across the state.