Houston is set to spend nearly $29 million in federal funds to improve safety on a seven-mile stretch of Bissonnet Street, known for frequent crashes. The project will slow traffic, widen and repair sidewalks, add protected bike lanes, and create safer crossings, with City Council approving the plan and combining federal and local funds to cover costs.
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $28.79 million through its Safe Streets and Roads for All program, and the city has formally accepted the funding, according to the City of Houston. The project is part of Houston’s Vision Zero strategy to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries.
City leaders put the total price tag at about $35.9 million, with roughly $7.2 million coming from local matching funds, Houston Chronicle reported. The ordinance accepting the federal award also authorizes Houston Public Works to start procurement and move the design work toward construction.
What’s In The Redesign
Planned improvements along the corridor include reconfigured travel lanes, new sidewalks and protected bike lanes, dedicated turn lanes and roundabouts. Crews will also install upgraded crosswalks with pedestrian refuge islands and rapid-flash beacons, City of Houston says. The project also calls for ADA-compliant ramps, better lighting and easier access to bus stops, all aimed at making Bissonnet safer and more usable for people who depend on transit or travel the street on foot or by bike.
Why Bissonnet Made The Cut
This seven-mile slice of Bissonnet sits on Houston’s High Injury Network and has logged a disproportionately high number of deadly and serious crashes, as per Houston Public Media. City planning documents cited in the grant application put the corridor’s kill-or-serious-injury (KSI) rate at about 22 per year. Those same documents outline dozens of pedestrian deaths and severe injuries along Bissonnet, a track record that helped the city make its case for the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant.
Timeline And Next Steps
With council approval in hand, city officials expect to wrap up final design and launch procurement this winter, with construction targeted to begin in 2027, as noted by Community Impact. The city currently estimates the work could be finished in 2028, though that schedule will depend on how contracting and material deliveries play out.
Local Reaction
Neighborhood advocates and council members have been pressing for changes on Bissonnet for years and called the federal award overdue. The investment is especially significant for parts of southwest Houston that have not seen much recent infrastructure spending, Councilmember Tiffany Thomas told the Houston Chronicle.
Residents interviewed on local TV said seemingly basic upgrades like continuous sidewalks, brighter lighting and safer crosswalks could have an outsized impact on day-to-day life along the corridor, KHOU reported.
The Bissonnet project is funded through USDOT’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program, created under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to back local efforts to cut roadway deaths and serious injuries, as mentioned by the U.S. Department of Transportation. City officials say they will roll out procurement and additional public outreach in the coming months as design and contracting move forward.
