The Connecticut Department of Transportation brought its 300th wrong-way detector online as of Sept. 10, less than three years after the program launched in December 2023.
According to an agency press release, the program has successfully alerted more than 1,000 drivers who turned around and returned to safety. The agency has also seen a reduction in wrong-way crashes and fatalities since its launch.
The new site is located on the Route 571 Exit 1 off-ramp in New Britain, near Beehive Stadium. All active locations are available on a map available to view on CTDOT’s website.
The program’s launch followed a particularly deadly year for wrong-way crashes in 2022, when 13 crashes resulted in 23 fatalities.
CTDOT now operates one of the largest wrong-way detection programs in the country, earning a national award in April.
Each additional detection site not only helps prevent wrong-way entries, but also improves response times and collects reliable data to strengthen future prevention efforts, the press release states.
The detection system uses cameras to identify vehicles traveling in the wrong direction. When a wrong-way vehicle is detected, the system activates a series of wrong-way signs outlined with multiple sets of flashing red lights to alert the driver that they are traveling the wrong way. CTDOT’s Highway Operations Center and Connecticut State Police are also alerted when the system is triggered.
These efforts are combined with CTDOT’s installation of hundreds of Wrong Way and Do Not Enter signs on off-ramps, additional roadway pavement marking and directional arrows on traffic signals to indicate the proper direction of travel where possible.
CTDOT currently has funding for 100 more sites, bring the potential total to 400 locations.
Source: CTDOT
