Posted on October 5, 2023
NEWINGTON- Tuesday, State Rep. Holly Cheeseman (R-37) had the opportunity to stop by the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s (ConnDOT) Open House for legislators and staff to learn more about their operations, projects, and initiatives across the state at their Newington DOT Headquarters.
The DOT oversees a range of areas from highway maintenance to our public transit systems, to project engineering and development across the entire state.
Rep. Cheeseman was able to see how we are using technology to do everything from shortening highway closure times during emergencies to pinpointing exactly how much solution to apply to the roadways during snow events based on intricate calculations including air/ground temperatures and precipitation rates.
All of this is monitored in the Highway Operations Center that serves as the nerve center for operations across the state. Here, operators are monitoring real-time data and live camera feeds to manage work crews and respond to emergencies promptly and efficiently.
Rep. Cheeseman was pleased had a chance to talk to the engineers overseeing the I -95/Route 161 project in East Lyme for an update on the progress of the work.
Holly and DOT officials discussed the newly passed law which looks to be proactive and stop tragic wrong-way crashes from becoming endemic. The law calls for the installation of these wrong-way driving detection systems on at least 120 high-risk exit ramps.