{"id":247127,"date":"2026-06-15T07:15:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T11:15:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=247127"},"modified":"2026-06-18T11:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:00:10","slug":"uconn-and-connecticuts-department-of-transportation-partnership-extended","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/06\/uconn-and-connecticuts-department-of-transportation-partnership-extended\/","title":{"rendered":"$12M Grant to UConn from Connecticut\u2019s Department of Transportation to Extend Partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"

UConn College of Engineering faculty and staff will again be a part of Connecticut’s critical transportation safety initiatives, this time through a nearly $12 million grant that will benefit drivers, pedestrians, law enforcement personnel, and others.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Law
The CTSRC holds training courses for law enforcement on bike and pedestrian crash investigations. (Photo courtesy of Eric Jackson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center\u00a0(CTSRC)\u00a0has renewed its partnership with the Connecticut Department of Transportation\u00a0(DOT)\u00a0through a new five-year,\u00a0$11.95 million agreement.\u00a0This investment will support\u00a0cutting-edge\u00a0crash data systems, advanced safety analytics, law enforcement training, and innovative research to help make Connecticut\u2019s transportation system safer for everyone.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The CTSRC operates through UConn\u2019s Connecticut Transportation Institute (CTI). CTI serves as a focal point for transportation-related research at the university and training throughout the state, and since 1995 has brought in almost $175M in state grants.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re proud to continue working with the DOT to turn data into actionable safety solutions that save lives,\u201d says CTI executive director\u00a0and CTSRC director\u00a0Eric Jackson.\u00a0\u201cThe center has acted as a trusted \u2018agent-for-change’ throughout the Connecticut transportation for almost 15 years.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jackson is also a professor\u00a0within\u00a0the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Law
Law enforcement reviewing a simulated bicycle and car collision. (Photo courtesy of Eric Jackson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The CTSRC was\u00a0established\u00a0by the DOT in 2012.\u00a0CTI\u2019s core programs, including the CTSRC, the\u00a0Connecticut Advanced Pavement Laboratory, and the Training and Technical (T2) Assistance Center,\u00a0serve to advance the maintenance and enhancement of transportation systems and safety with a particular focus on Connecticut\u2019s current and future needs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the memorandum of understanding, the CTSRC\u2019s mission is to support CTDOT, \u201cin developing and maintaining a state-of-the-art highway crash data entry, collection, and safety analysis system\u00a0and develop for CTDOT analytical tools, related safety research and outreach programs, and custom training that support the crash data system.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the memorandum, the\u00a0center will focus on three key areas in its next five years: data collection; data analysis and analytic support; and training and education.\u00a0The partners are focused on two significant outcomes: meeting current stakeholder needs in the short term;\u00a0and ensuring a nimble,\u00a0sustainable\u00a0and scalable organization that can meet new,\u00a0emerging,\u00a0and unforeseen needs over the long term.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
A screenshot of the Connecticut Crash Data Repository, managed by the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center. (Photo courtesy of Eric Jackson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

UConn is essential to processing crash reports\u00a0(almost 9,000 a month) and making the data available to stakeholders.\u00a0To continually improve crash documentation and investigation, CTSRC crash data liaisons are\u00a0Police\u00a0Officer\u00a0Standards and\u00a0Training certified. They\u00a0teach at\u00a0academies to train new recruits\u00a0to investigate motor vehicle crashes and\u00a0properly\u00a0document the results\u00a0of their investigation, ensuring\u00a0more\u00a0high-quality data over time.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis partnership reflects the vital role that research universities play in solving real-world challenges,\u201d says UConn Engineering Dean JC Zhao. \u201cThrough the Connecticut Transportation Institute, our faculty and staff are applying their\u00a0expertise\u00a0to improve public safety, strengthen transportation infrastructure, and deliver meaningful benefits to communities across Connecticut. We are grateful for the state\u2019s Department of Transportation\u2019s continued trust and collaboration.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

CTI was established in 1974. Since 1995 when modern fiscal records first became available, the center has been awarded $174,234,499 in grants. Since the CTSRC’s inception in 2012, awards have totaled $154,719,349.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UConn is essential to processing crash reports (almost 9,000 a month) and making the data available to stakeholders<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":185,"featured_media":247131,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1866,1715,2404,2460,2650,2648,2076,2235,2227],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2445],"class_list":["post-247127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engr","category-community-impact","category-data-science","category-faculty","category-blue-impact","category-blue-research","category-research","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-edu-homepage"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 10:40:42","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/185"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247127"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247597,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247127\/revisions\/247597"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/247131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247127"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=247127"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=247127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}