Auburn will be able to move forward with a safety improvement project, thanks to funding from the Highway Safety Improvement Program, a federal aid program administered through the Washington State Department of Transportation.

WSDOT awarded $15 million in federal grants to be used by cities and counties to significantly reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries on public roads.

Locally, crews will add a traffic signal to the intersection at F Street Southeast and 4th Street Southeast. The estimated cost of the grant to cover the project is $396,720.

Cities and counties tackle 42 other safety improvement projects with the funding.

“These safety funds will be spent where they will have the highest payoff toward saving lives and reducing serious injuries, and also have the potential to support 150 jobs around the state,” said Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond.

Cities and counties submitted a total of 72 project applications, with an estimate of $28.5 million for funding consideration. To be invited to apply, agencies had to meet criteria based on a statewide analysis of where fatal and serious injury crashes were occurring.

WSDOT reviewed the applications, looking at urban and rural locations separately. Projects that received funding were able to demonstrate the best proposal for a high safety benefit for a reasonable cost.

The Highway Safety Improvement Program is funding 43 projects from 31 local agencies for a total of $15.6 million.

Projects range from adding rumble strips to prevent run-off-the-road collisions to improved signal operations and new transit lanes.