The following is a press release from the East Haven Mayor's Office.
Mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr recently prepared preliminary documents with the Connecticut Department of Transportation which, after Town Council approval, will result in the installation of a full traffic signal at the intersection of Route 142 (Short Beach Road) and Mansfield Grove Road.
The cost sharing agreement will be State Project No. 173-402.
The signalization at this intersection has been the subject of hundreds of requests by area residents going back for almost 20 years.
The Mayor will be executing the final agreement for the installation of the light following a special meeting of the Town Council which will give him authorization to do so.
Maturo explained, “Believe it or not, these efforts actually began when as members of the Town Council in the 90’s, Miriam Amendola and I initiated these efforts with the State DOT. Even years later, the request for a traffic signal at this location, is one of the most popular requests that I received during my prior stint as Mayor and once again since my return to office.”
Maturo continued, “This is a project that I took on personally in my first administration. We conducted several meetings with the DOT and, at one point, I personally walked and video-taped the road to provide the State with the line-of-sight evidence it needed to justify a traffic signal at this location. We presented the DOT with several videos of that intersection and other similar roadways where traffic lights were present. I am pleased that the many years of effort have finally come to fruition and that the pleas of this office and the residents of that area have finally been heard. I would like to thank Governor Malloy, his administration and the DOT for their actions.”
During the application process, in lieu of a light, Mayor Maturo was able to get the State to open the sight lines of the intersection, which helped to finally expedite the light’s final approval.
Once the agreement is finalized, DOT estimates the light to be operational within the next twelve months.
Maturo concluded, “The safety of our residents is of the utmost importance. We will continue to do all that we can to identify problem areas in Town and to address the public safety concerns of our residents.”
