West Haven Partners with UConn to Steer Traffic Plans

By Michael P. Walsh

WEST HAVEN, CT — Anthony A. Lorenzetti of the Connecticut Technology Transfer Center at the University of Connecticut, (pictured in back), discusses strategies to improve West Haven’s transportation infrastructure with city officials — Mayor Edward M. O’Brien, Councilman Russell E. Aldrich Jr., D-1, and members of the Fire, Police and Public Works departments — during a PowerPoint presentation Dec. 8 at City Hall.

Lorenzetti, a professional engineer who is the center’s safety circuit rider, talked about ways UConn can help the city, through a new partnership, to enhance its traffic plans, including traffic signal management, and make them more pedestrian and vehicular friendly.

According to the center, more than 3 million miles of road and 299,000 bridges in the U.S. are maintained by local transportation agencies. Often suffering from excessive wear due to traffic, weather and mistreatment, keeping roads and bridges safe and navigable requires “good design, diligent maintenance and timely rehabilitation.”

Limited funding for such work creates a significant need for technical assistance in the 38,000 local communities across the country, a necessity that paved the way for the Federal Highway Administration to initiate the Local Technical Assistance Program in 1982.

The Technology Transfer Center at UConn is Connecticut’s program, one of 58 centers nationwide financed by the Highway Administration and the state Department of Transportation. The center operates under the aegis of the UConn School of Engineering’s Connecticut Transportation Institute and serves members of the state’s transportation and public safety community who represent their cities and towns as legal traffic authorities.

The center, based in Storrs, aims “to foster a safe, efficient and environmentally sound surface transportation system by improving the skills and increasing the knowledge of the transportation workforce in Connecticut.”

(City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)