On Route 44, just to the east of the intersection with Laurel Way, is a new metal tower surrounded by a chain-link fence connected to a new electric meter on the other side of the street. There is an identical new tower in East Canaan on 44 and another in the Route 8 highway median in Torrington. I travel around Connecticut a lot, and they are popping up all over. What is going on? Black ops surveillance? Aliens? Close guesses. It’s the CT DOT!

The Department of Transportation has been installing weather-monitoring towers along state roads all over the state to do a better job of keeping our roads safe in the winter. With these towers, the DOT gets real-time weather data for air temperature, road surface temperature, subsurface temperature, wind speed, humidity, falling precipitation and precipitation on road surfaces. With this detailed information, the road crews are better able to anticipate and pinpoint when and where plowing and road treatment is needed. Many of these towers also have cameras aimed at the roads, including this tower. Eventually the DOT plans to have this real-time data and pictures from these towers on their website for anyone to see at CtTravelSmart.org.

—Dave Beers