Florida Construction News staff writer
A $23.5-million federal grant will fund pedestrian safety, drainage and traffic improvements along a section of Tharpe Street in Tallahassee, Florida.
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the funding through its Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program. The award will support design and construction of the first segment of the Tharpe Street improvements, part of Blueprint’s Northwest Connector Corridor project.
The funded segment will extend from Ocala Road to Mission Road and include an intersection safety project that the City of Tallahassee will implement.
Planned improvements include new sidewalks along a corridor where most sections currently have none, additional turn lanes to reduce traffic disruptions and replacement of open drainage ditches with a piped drainage system.
The broader Northwest Connector Corridor project covers approximately 2.6 miles of Tharpe Street, from Ocala Road to Capital Circle Northwest. It is intended to improve access to Tower Road Park and Stoneler Road County Park.
The grant will also support an automated incident detection and response system along the corridor and at selected nearby intersections.
The system will use sensors to detect incidents and automatically send crash alerts to the Regional Traffic Management Center operated by the City of Tallahassee.
Blueprint will work with the U.S. Department of Transportation to finalize the grant agreement in the coming months. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2030.
The award follows two previous SS4A grants in the area. The federal program provided $16.8 million for North Monroe Street improvements in December 2025 and $9.6 million for the Jake Gaither pedestrian safety project in 2024.
Blueprint said it secured the latest funding by leveraging an initial $9-million investment to obtain additional federal support, allowing the corridor improvements to be delivered seven years earlier than originally anticipated while maintaining the project’s approved priority within the agency’s infrastructure program.
“This project delivers what our residents have asked for – a safer Tharpe Street,” said Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency Board Chair and Tallahassee Mayor Pro Tem Curtis Richardson. “With an initial investment of $9 million, Blueprint staff leveraged an additional $23.5 million in federal funding to deliver this critical project for our community.”
