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Town of Windsor Locks


Congratulations to Kevin Marley of the Town of Windsor Locks on his promotion to Maintainer II!

Please email Regina Hackett with your agency’s promotions, awards, recognitions, or other great news, and we’ll proudly feature them in an upcoming newsletter.

In recognition of National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) on April 20-24, the CT T2 Center invited agencies across Connecticut to help promote work zone safety through a photo contest. This year’s winner highlights that message perfectly.

Congratulations to the Town of South Windsor Public Works!

This year’s NWZAW campaign reminded us all that keeping our roads safe is a shared responsibility. Whether you’re behind the wheel or working roadside, slowing down, staying alert, and respecting work zones can make all the difference.

Thank you to everyone who participated and continues to support safer work zones across Connecticut, because everyone deserves to make it home.

The Connecticut Training & Technical Assistance (T2) Center is proud to partner with Manchester Public Schools to introduce its high school students to meaningful opportunities in the transportation field. This partnership has strengthened the school's pre-apprenticeship program with Manchester Public Works. The goals of this initiative were to educate students on safety practices as they become independent road users and spark their interest in transportation careers.

Through classroom visits, students were introduced to a range of safety and technical topics, which increased their awareness and understanding of CT’s transportation systems. Key messages reinforced the importance of respecting work zones, slowing down, and navigating them carefully. Students learned that traffic control patterns are thoughtfully designed based on roadway speed and volume to communicate clear, consistent guidance to the traveling public. Students also explored foundational electrical safety concepts, including how electricity affects the human body and how to identify electrical equipment and hazards in everyday conditions. Hands-on activities reinforced these lessons. Students had the opportunity to learn about the various components of traffic cabinets, explore traffic signal detection systems, and wire traffic signal heads. Additional topics included the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), speed feedback signs, Automated Traffic Enforcement Safety Devices (ATESDs), and the use of drones in transportation. The visits provided students with practical, real-world experiences that they could apply navigating roadways in their daily lives or considering future employment. We are so grateful for our subject matter experts who contributed to this effort: Warren Rogers, Bill Eyberse, Scott Yeomans, Stephen Frycz (City of Stamford), Joshua Michalak (CT Dept. of Transportation), Jason Hughes, and Shawn Barry (T2 Center).

As members of the T2 Center Safety Circuit Rider team made their way across the state delivering new speed feedback signs, they were often alerted to the issues with the older signs. One common issue is that the original batteries are getting toward the end of their lives. As the battery power decreases, the modem that sends data to the cloud is the first component affected, which will cause the sign to lose communication. Your sign will still display speeds, but you won’t be able to access the data on the cloud. 

An easy way to check your battery power is to sign in to the Traffic Logix cloud and find your speed feedback sign on the map. After you find your sign location, click on the icon and find the Last Power Supply. If the number is in red, the batteries are not supplying enough power to your sign.

New batteries are easily found at several big-box online retailers or local power supply stores. Before you shop for new batteries, check the ones in your signs to ensure you’re buying the correct replacement. The new batteries must be 12V, 18 Ah AGM Deep-Cycle batteries with the same positive and negative terminal configuration as the ones currently in your signs. All batteries should be replaced at the same time.

Every community across Connecticut has now received two speed feedback signs, marking an important milestone in improving roadway safety statewide. Through a partnership between the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the CT T2 Center, these signs are helping to encourage safer driving habits in neighborhoods and along local roads.

Speed feedback signs display a driver’s speed in real time, giving immediate feedback compared to the posted speed limit. This simple but effective tool has been shown to slow drivers down, not just at the sign but even after they’ve passed it.

This program made a meaningful impact, supporting communities in their efforts to create safer streets for everyone.

Be sure to watch the video below to learn more about round two of the Speed Feedback Sign program.

The Federal Highway Administration has announced Every Day Counts Round 8 (EDC-8) for 2026-2027, introducing a new set of six proven innovations aimed at advancing safety, accelerating project delivery, and improving infrastructure management. This latest round builds on the program’s success by focusing on practical, ready-to-implement solutions such as improving nighttime work zone safety, expanding innovative project delivery methods, enhancing data sharing through connected corridors, advancing digital project delivery, improving utility coordination, and leveraging next-generation drone technology for infrastructure inspection. Together, these initiatives are designed to help transportation agencies deliver projects more efficiently while improving safety and reliability across the nation’s transportation system.

National Public Works Week (May 17-23, 2026) is just around the corner, and it’s a great time to recognize and celebrate the dedicated professionals who keep our communities running every day. This year’s theme, Rooted in Service, Powered by Community, highlights the essential role public works plays in supporting safe, healthy, and connected communities throughout Connecticut and across the nation.

From maintaining roads and bridges to ensuring reliable water and sewer systems, your work often happens behind the scenes, and its impact is seen and felt everywhere. The CT T2 Center would like to extend a sincere thank you to the entire Connecticut Public Works community for your continued commitment, hard work, and service.

If your agency is planning to celebrate National Public Works Week, we’d love to hear about it! Whether it’s crew appreciation events, community outreach, or team activities, we welcome you to share photos and stories. We may feature your efforts on our social media channels or in next month’s Crossroads newsletter.

Please send submissions to Regina Hackett.

Thank you again for all that you do to serve your communities, and we look forward to celebrating with you!

May is National Bicycle Safety Month, a time to promote safe riding practices and remind all road users to share the road responsibly. As bicycling, especially e-bike use, continues to grow, safety awareness is more important than ever for both riders and drivers.

To support this effort, the CT T2 Center will host a Safety Matters Coffee & Conversation: What to Know About E-Bikes in CT webinar on May 13, 2026, covering key safety considerations and current regulations. Join us for this timely discussion and help promote safer streets in your community.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is pleased to announce it was named the Overall Winner at the 2026 Transportation Systems Management and Operations Awards (TSMO Awards) for the Wrong Way Driving Detection Program.

The National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE) made the announcement during the annual meeting of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Committee on Transportation System Operations in March 2026. The Overall Winner was chosen from the four TSMO Award Category winners.

CTDOT won for its Wrong Way Driving Detection Program, which is one of the largest wrong way

detection programs in the country. The program was launched in 2023, after 13 wrong-way crashes in 2022 resulted in 23 fatalities. With each additional detection site, the program aims to prevent wrong way entries, improve response times, and gather reliable data to strengthen future interventions.

Since December 2023, nearly 900 drivers have activated one of these systems, and successfully turned around before entering the highway in the wrong direction.

This updated native plant availability list is designed to assist homeowners, landscapers, and conservation organizations in locating native planting stock for wildlife habitat enhancement. It was compiled from a survey of Connecticut’s registered nurseries. Of the respondents, many indicated that they have native trees, shrubs, or perennials in stock or would obtain them by special order. Although some of the listed nurseries are strictly wholesale businesses, trees and shrubs can often be ordered from them through your local retail nursery or garden center. Present this publication (PDF version here) to your local retailer and ask them to order plants for you if they do not already have them in stock.

Connecticut Training and Technical Assistance Center

University of Connecticut

270 Middle Turnpike, Unit 5202

Storrs, CT 06269-5202

Phone: 860-486-9373