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September 2024 | Issue 124

Workshop Schedule and Events

Click on the button below to view training opportunities available. We will continue to update the schedule with dates and locations, so check in with us regularly. If you are interested in hosting a class, please email Bethe Greene at bethany.greene@uconn.edu.

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In This Issue

  • Connecticut Public Works Promotions & Announcements
  • Leaders to Watch: Scott Bushee, CT Dept. of Transportation
  • Safety Matters: Ghost Shoes - A Sobering Reminder of Pedestrian Safety
  • Stormwater Management at Your Public Works Facility
  • Innovation Station: Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods
  • CTDOT and Public Works Crews: Repairing Our Communities After Catastrophic Flooding
  • Boston Implements Traffic Flow Changes Recommended by Artificial Intelligence
  • How Michigan State Police Deploy Ghosts to Curb Distracted Driving

City of New Britain


  • Carl "CJ" Gandza, Engineering Project Manager, was awarded the 2024 Award of Dedication at the ITS-CT Annual Meeting and Expo on September 18, 2024.


Town of East Lyme


  • Dillon Winkler has been promoted to Construction Foreman.
  • Frank Farina has been promoted to Maintenance Foreman.
  • Bob Neville has been promoted to Sanitation Foreman.
  • Dan Shea has been promoted to Transfer Station Foreman.

Let us celebrate your department's successes with our CT Public Works community. Please email Regina Hackett your agency's great news and we will publish it in an upcoming newsletter.

Scott Bushee, CT Dept. of Transportation


Scott is a Principal Engineer with the Division of Highway Design at the CT Department of Transportation (CTDOT). In this role, he leads the State Highway Design Unit and a strong team of engineers that are responsible for designing projects for the state’s roadway network.

He is passionate about roadway safety and is a leader in advancing roadway safety concepts and projects across the state. His knowledge of roundabouts, complete streets, and other safety measures has been shared with many practitioners, benefiting those who travel on our roadways. Scott is a strong force at the CTDOT and has been integral in the incorporation of roundabouts into Connecticut’s road network. 

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Ghost Shoes - A Sobering Reminder of Pedestrian Safety


Maybe you’ve driven along the roadway and have noticed a pair of white shoes and flowers on the side of the road or at an intersection. Did you take time to think about the meaning of these memorials, or did you continue on your way without taking notice or considering the lives they represent?


So far in 2024, we have seen a dramatic rise in pedestrian fatalities on our roadways. As of August 31st, there have been 48 pedestrian fatalities on Connecticut roads. In comparison, at this same time in 2023 there were 31 pedestrian fatalities. While any traffic fatality is unacceptable, the rise in preventable pedestrian deaths in Connecticut is distressing. Those fatalities are not just numbers to look at in a chart, they are people who have lives, families, friends, and are part of our communities. To draw attention to the lives behind these pedestrian deaths, “Ghost Shoes” are appearing in Connecticut to highlight the losses we are seeing and feeling.

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Storm Management at Your Public Works Facility by Michael F. Ciacciarella, EIT, Assistant Town Engineer, Town of Guilford


Water is a valuable natural, economic, recreational, cultural, and aesthetic resource. The protection and preservation of ground and surface water is vital to our community’s health, welfare, and safety. As Public Works staff, it is often our responsibility to ensure the community’s stormwater assets are well maintained and functioning to the best of our abilities. Common tasks include catch basin cleaning, street sweeping, trash collection along road shoulders, and more. However, stormwater management extends beyond local and state roads. Public Works facilities also have to manage stormwater and prevent pollutants from reaching it.

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Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods


A new Federal grant program is helping today’s communities repair the harm caused by infrastructure choices of the past.


While interstates and highways are designed to connect travelers with their destinations, many of the multilane roadways constructed in the 1950s and 1960s also disconnected communities. Low-income and minority Americans suffered disproportionately from the destruction and division in their neighborhoods, resulting in economic, social, and mobility challenges that persist today. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s new Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program and Neighborhood Access and Equity Program is offering communities help in addressing the negative impacts of past transportation infrastructure investments.

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CTDOT and Public Works Crews: Repairing Our Communities After Catastrophic Flooding


On August 18 and 19, 2024, a severe rainstorm swept through western Connecticut, leaving behind significant damage to infrastructure due to historic rainfall and flooding. In response, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and Municipal Public Works crews sprang into action, working around the clock to clear debris and restore damaged roads. Their dedication ensured that transportation routes were reopened swiftly, minimizing disruption for residents.


CTDOT received $3 million in "quick release" Emergency Relief (ER) funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). For more information, please see FHWA's press release.

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Boston Implements Traffic Flow Changes Recommended by Artificial Intelligence

Traffic is flowing differently today through four Boston intersections following the implementation of changes developed in partnership with artificial intelligence, city officials announced on August 8, 2024.


"It provides our traffic engineers with important data to tweak a signal by seconds, which can help reduce congestion along a corridor," Jascha Franklin-Hodge, Boston's chief of streets, explained in a statement.

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How Michigan State Police Deploy Ghosts to Curb Distracted Driving

Despite Michigan’s hands-free driving law being in place for more than a year now, police are still seeing drivers holding their phones or other devices in vehicles. The practice is especially troublesome where road work is going on.


On the August 15, 2024 edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, there is a conversation with a construction engineer facing the challenge of working with contractors to rebuild roads in a timely manner while maintaining mobility for the public. 

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