The Wrong Way Detection System will be installed at I-84 exits in West Hartford as well as Cheshire and Southington the week of Jan. 13-17, 2025.

A Wrong Way Detection System is being installed at I-84 Exit 43 (Park Road) in West Hartford. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

By Ronni Newton

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) has announced that the I-84 exit at Park Road in West Hartford will be one of the next locations where a Wrong Way Detection System will be installed.

In a press release issued Friday, CTDOT said installations will be taking place at three I-84 eastbound and westbound exits – Exits 43, 26, and 31 in West Hartford, Cheshire, and Southington respectively. The installation work will be performed during the hours of 6:30 p.m. and 2 a.m., beginning Jan. 13, 2025, and should be completed by Jan. 17, 2025.

The I-84 Exit 43 ramp, at Park Road, already has “Wrong Way” signage, but a Wrong Way Detection System is being installed as well. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

While there are already “wrong way” signs on the ramps, according to the CTDOT the Wrong Way Detection System adds several additional elements. Video cameras detect vehicles traveling in the wrong direction and then activate “wrong way” signs that flash with multiple sets of red lights to alert the driver that they are headed in the wrong direction.

“Additionally, the system alerts the CTDOT Highway Operations Center and local State Police Troop barracks in real-time, allowing staff to monitor the activities of the wrong way driver on the ramp,” the news release states.

The ramp from I-84 east and westbound at Exits 43 in West Hartford, as well as the other two exists, will close on Monday, Jan. 13 at 6:30 p.m. DOT Maintenance Forces and TAPCO will be performing the work, and there will be traffic control personnel and signing patterns to guide and inform motorists through the work zone or to any detours.

The plan is for the installation to be complete by 2 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 17, but weather or other conditions may cause modification to the schedule.

According to CTDOT, wrong way crashes are one of the largest threats to public safety, and are often fatal. There were 13 wrong way crashes in 2022 that resulted in 23 fatalities according to the CTDOT website, and five crashes with seven fatalities in 2023. “And in almost every wrong way crash, the driver was found to be impaired by alcohol. To try to stop these crashes from happening, CTDOT has been installing wrong way driving countermeasures over the past two years,” the website states.

A Wrong Way Detection System is being installed at I-84 Exit 43 (Park Road) in West Hartford. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

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