Sponsors (2)
The bill strengthens protections for highway and construction workers and improves public awareness through better data, research, outreach, and grant requirements, but it imposes modest federal costs and notable administrative and compliance burdens that could strain smaller or resource‑limited states, localities, and applicants and may slow some projects.
Transportation and construction workers will be better protected because the bill requires improved tracking of worker-specific crashes and injuries and mandates that States add strategies when worker injuries/fatalities rise, enabling targeted safety interventions and faster allocation of corrective measures.
Federal grant programs will prioritize projects that document concrete worker-protection and work-zone intrusion/traffic-speed management measures, shifting funding toward projects that reduce risks for both workers and road users.
The bill provides sustained federal funding (~$5 million per year FY2027–FY2031; $25 million total) to support outreach, targeted research, university and FHWA centers, and NHTSA activities to develop and disseminate proven roadway and work‑zone safety practices.
States, local agencies, and project sponsors will face new administrative, reporting, and planning costs to collect more detailed crash data, adjust safety materials, and document required work‑zone protections — a particular strain on smaller DOTs and understaffed agencies.
Smaller or resource-constrained grant applicants and rural/local jurisdictions may be disadvantaged in competitive programs because they cannot document sophisticated safety measures as readily, reducing their chances of receiving federal funds.
Emphasizing detailed safety criteria and requiring applicants to develop and document protection plans could delay project start times and, absent dedicated implementation funding, divert attention toward paperwork rather than immediate on‑the‑ground safety fixes.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Introduced March 26, 2026 by Catherine Marie Cortez Masto · Last progress March 26, 2026
Strengthens data and planning for highway-worker injuries, expands Move Over outreach, funds research/outreach, and adds worker-safety criteria to transportation grant programs.
Requires improved identification, reporting, and planning for injuries and deaths of highway workers, broadens public outreach about “Move Over” protections, funds research and public-awareness campaigns, and adds worker- and road-user-safety criteria to several federal transportation grant programs. It directs federal agencies to update outreach materials and conduct research, authorizes modest annual funding through FY2027–FY2031, and requires states and grant applicants to incorporate protections for roadside workers into safety plans and applications. The bill affects highway safety programs at FHWA and NHTSA, state strategic highway safety plans, transportation grant applicants (including BUILD applicants), and roadside workers such as construction, utility, towing, and incident-response personnel. It authorizes $2 million/year for public outreach and $3 million/year for research from FY2027–FY2031, with those funds remaining available until expended.