Towns chosen for road audits

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Fourteen communities in the Greater Naugatuck Valley have been chosen for Road Safety Audits next year, the state Department of Transportation announced.

The audits are formal safety performance examinations of existing roads or intersections by an independent, multidisciplinary team that includes local public agencies.

The DOT is scheduling at least one audit in each of the 14 communities. They will begin this spring and continue through spring 2017.

Municipalities selected for the audits include Beacon Falls, Naugatuck and Prospect.

“With town budgets stretched particularly thin this year, the state’s resources can make a difference in identifying safety solutions that towns would otherwise find challenging to fund,” the Naugatuck Valley Council of Government’s Director of Planning Mark Nielsen said in a news release. “We look forward to seeing DOT’s data from the audits and utilizing it for NVCOG’s efforts in directing future road improvements.”

The audits are part of the DOT’s Community Connectivity Program, a state-funded effort to improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and to provide better connections within municipalities.

According to DOT, the audit examines the safety performance of an existing road or intersection and identifies opportunities for safety improvements for all road users.

The audit qualitatively estimates and reports potential road safety issues and identifies opportunities for improvement. These safety improvements range from short-term, low-cost measures, such as brush cutting, to long-range projects, such as roadway realignment.