Free Training Opportunity

To support Work Zone Safety Awareness Week (April 23 – 27) and Public Works Week (May 21 – 25) , we will be partnering with the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) to sponsor a free training aimed at improving safety among roadway construction and maintenance crews.

 Avoiding Runovers and Backovers: Internal Traffic Control Plans

May 17, 2012

8:30 – 3:00

Colchester, CT

(light lunch will be provided)

This class focuses on strategies for minimizing runover and backover incidents within work zones and contains information on how to develop and implement internal traffic control plans as a way of improving the safety of your crews. It will provide great tips and tools for everyone in your organization including truck drivers, equipment operators, maintainers, inspectors, engineers, highway superintendents and public works directors.

This is shaping up to be an excellent session. If you are interested in attending or sending some of your staff, please email Lisa Knight, our training assistant, at l.knight@engr.uconn.edu by May 4th.

2012 Roadway Safety Poster Contest for Children

The Connecticut Technology Transfer Center (T2 Center) at UCONN and the CT Department of Transportation are holding the second annual Connecticut Roadway Safety Poster Contest for Children.  We want to make roadway safety a priority and are asking the children of Connecticut to help promote roadway safety through art.

This year’s theme “Every Life Counts in Connecticut” focuses on the fact that all of Connecticut’s road users deserve safe and efficient roadways and that those people who work to maintain our roadways deserve a safe workplace.  It also means that we are all responsible for doing our part to make those roadways safe.

First place poster by Carling Albrecht, Tolland Intermediate School

Students in grades K-6 are invited to submit their impressions of roadway safety.  Students should depict those concepts and actions they think are vital to improving roadway safety; what drivers and passengers can do to protect their lives and the lives of those working on the road.  Some examples of these concepts are: drive the speed limit, slow down in work zones, don’t be a distracted driver, and follow all road signs.

2011 winner with family and Governor Malloy at Work Zone Safety Press Conference

For more information and contest details, please click on the following link: http://www.t2center.uconn.edu/pdfs/2012%20poster%20contest%20directions%20and%20forms.pdf

2011 Ceremony Honors Graduates and Award Winners

On October 27th, T2 Center staff, guests and Connecticut’s top transportation leaders came together to honor the 99 transportation professionals that completed our certificate programs in 2011.  We had 42 Road Master graduates, 23 Road Scholar graduates, 13 Legal Traffic Authority graduates and 21 Public Works Academy graduates.  Our keynote speakers were Representative Bill Aman of South Windsor, Commissioner James Redeker of the DOT, Division Administrator Amy Jackson-Grove of FHWA and two graduates – Kevin Kelly of Colchester and Honorable Laura L. Francis of Durham.  The speakers focused their remarks on the importance of professional development and the immense value that public works and highway maintenance have in our state. Graduate speakers Kevin Kelly and  Laura Francis both shared how important their professional development has been in their careers and how the information they have learned at workshops has really helped them to improve their agencies and departments.  Kevin also noted that, as a supervisor, sending his crew to classes has been a powerful tool in improving their operations and increasing safety among his team.

The 2011 Connecticut Creative Solutions Award winners were also recognized at this annual event and each of the winners got up to share a bit about their winning solution.  Details on this year’s winners and those from past years can be found on our website at http://www.t2center.uconn.edu/solutionsaward.php

We also used the ceremony to recognize Representative Bill Aman’s hard work in supporting legislation to double fines in municipal work zones – helping to improve worker safety in local road construction and maintenance projects.  Representative Aman was instrumental in getting this important legislation passed.

2011 Technology Transfer Expo…another great day!

2011 Jack Stephens Memorial Safety Challegne Winners: l-r: Roy Gandreau-Town of Bloomfield (3rd), Josh Hebert-Town of Ellington (2nd) and Ray Sikorski-Town of Colchester (1st)

Participants discuss new technology

On September 21st, the sun peaked out from a week’s worth of clouds to shine on our 10th Annual Technology Transfer Expo in Storrs.  More than 400 participants shared in the demonstrations, educational sessions and networking that make this event so popular.  Exhibitors shared information on new technologies and processes such as Safety Edge, hot-in-place recycling, innovations in guardrail design, guidelines for fleet maintenance garages, and cost saving techniques in winter maintenance operations.  Municipal transportation professionals participated in the Annual Jack Stephens Safety Challenge with the Towns of Colchester, Hebron and Bloomfield taking top honors.  Attendees also had the opportunity to test their snowplow skills at the Driving Simulator on loan from the Rhode Island DOT and LTAP Center.  A special thank you goes out to all the volunteers and exhibitors that helped make this day such a success!  We look forward to another great show next year!

Congratulations 2011 Creative Solutions Award Winners

Congratulations to the City of Bridgeport, the Town of Vernon and the Town of Hebron for their winning solutions. The winning solutions were as follows:

City of Bridgeport – Gantry Lifting Device

 

 

Town of Hebron – Automated Watering System

 

 

Town of Vernon – Winter Operations Educational Outreach Program

 

 

 

With Honorable Mentions going to:

Town of Vernon – Solar Powered Arrow Trailer

Town of New Milford – 911 Change Map

Thank you to our judges – Kirk Severance of Granby, Kevin Munson of Meriden and Karl Reichle of South Windsor – for their hard work and support. The winning solutions will be highlighted at the 2011 Technology Transfer Expo here in Storrs on September 21st and will receive recognition at this year’s Graduation and Awards Ceremony on October 27th.

We will be highlighting all the solutions in our online Creative Solutions Award Guide and are working to add them into this valuable resource.

Public Works Academy Class of 2011 announced

We just completed another successful session of the Connecticut Public Works Academy – a program aimed at providing recently hired employees with education on core competencies integral to a successful career in public works.

Twenty one (21) transportation professionals representing all four corners of the state gathered in Storrs to learn the latest in safety and operational best practices from technical experts, seasoned public works veterans and each other.  Topics included communication skills, roadway fundamentals, operational safety, work zone safety, flagger certification training, winter operations, safe snow plowing practices, and chainsaw safety and operation.
We would like to thank the Town of South Windsor and the Rhode Island DOT and LTAP Center for their help in providing sander calibration demonstrations and snowplow simulation exercises to our participants.  With their help, we were able to truly maximize the learning of our students.  The Class of 2011 will be recognized at the Annual T2 Center Graduation and Awards Ceremony in October 2011.

For more information on the Connecticut Public Works Academy or the Technology Transfer Center, please visit www.t2center.uconn.edu or call us at 860-486-5400.

 

Center Honored for Service to Public Works Community

 The Connecticut Technology Transfer Center (T2 Center) was honored this week for their service to Connecticut’s Public Works Community.  Representatives from the Town of South Windsor presented Director Donna Shea and her staff with a 2011 Business Partnership Public Works Award for their efforts on behalf of the public works community.

The award is meant to recognize individuals or groups that, through their activities, help South Windsor deliver quality services to their residents.  The T2 Center was recognized for facilitating relationships among state and local agencies and the professional public works associations in Connecticut and for providing high quality training programs and technical assistance that assist the Town in how they view and approach their jobs.

The Business Partnership Public Works Award is one of the ways that the Town of South Windsor recognizes National Public Works Week, a public education campaign that calls attention to the importance of public works in community life. The Week seeks to enhance the prestige of the often-unsung heroes of our society-the professionals who serve the public good every day with quiet dedication.  This year, National Public Works Week falls on May 15-21 and the theme is “Public Works: Serving You and Your Community”.  To learn more about National Public Works Week, please visit www.apwa.net and to learn more about the Connecticut Technology Transfer Center, visit www.t2center.uconn.edu