The Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission (UVLSRPC) received a $1.17 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop a road safety plan that supports the 27 communities in the commission’s region.

The five-year planning grant comes from the Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program, which supports efforts to reduce injuries and fatalities on the country’s roadways.

Meghan Butts, executive director of the UVLSRPC, said the commission will use the funds to develop a comprehensive safety action plan that works alongside Sullivan County’s Safety Action Plan.

Sullivan County recorded more than 3,800 crashes from 2019 to 2023, according to its Safety Action Plan. Thirteen people died, and 101 crashes involved a serious injury. All 13 deaths happened on about a quarter of the roads the plan studied.

Sullivan County’s plan, which also received funding from the Safe Streets and Roads for All program, recommends improvements to reduce roadway injuries and fatalities in the area. The UVLSRPC’s plan will also cover the commission’s communities in Grafton and Merrimack counties.

Alongside the action plan, the UVLSRPC will use grant funds to conduct demonstration projects in the region to test potential road and infrastructure changes. Butts said the demonstration projects will not come immediately and will not involve construction.

The UVLSRPC will also develop a supplemental plan to support post-crash care. Butts said sometimes people die after the crash, not during the incident, because emergency response personnel must travel long distances to reach the scene or transport an injured person to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

“We’re going to work with our partners in that field to see what we can do to identify the high-risk areas and gaps,” Butts said of post-crash care.

Butts said UVLSRPC staff were thrilled to receive the grant because the commission receives less transportation funding. Butts also said regional partners, including Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and the city of Lebanon, supported the commission’s application.

“This is huge for us,” Butts said.

Butts said UVLSRPC staff are still waiting to receive their contract, but they expect to begin planning in early 2027.