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New technologies will warn potential wrong-way drivers before they make a mistake, and problem intersections are being targeted for infrastructure improvements.

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After multiple fatal crashes in recent years, Gov. Maura Healey announced a new statewide initiative Wednesday designed to crack down on wrong-way driving. 

Officials are overseeing the addition of new technologies, new signage, and other types of new infrastructure at more than 500 “high-risk” locations across Massachusetts where drivers are more likely to enter roadways going the wrong direction.

The effort is already underway, and this work is expected to last for several more years. 

Healey made the announcement at the Massachusetts State Police barracks in Danvers. MSP trooper Kevin Trainor was killed in a wrong-way crash on Route 1 in Lynnfield last month. Another trooper was hospitalized after a wrong-way crash on Route 1 in Peabody weeks later. Healey also referenced the death of 18-year-old Gloucester native Chris Dailey in 2025 and the death of Endicott College Police Sgt. Jeremy Cole in 2024. 

“I want every resource, every tool, every technology deployed, used, here in Massachusetts on our roadways to prevent and stop wrong-way driving,” Healey said. “I don’t want any family to ever again be woken up in the middle of the night by the police, or get a knock on their door telling them that their loved one has been killed by a wrong-way driver.”

About 430 existing intersections with traffic signals and camera systems will be retrofitted with new wrong-way detection technology. This new hardware will be installed in traffic signals to “enable data collection, detection, and notification capabilities,” officials said. It will pick up on wrong-way drivers in real time and send alerts to police and transportation officials. 

After the new detection systems are added, the intersections will be outfitted with “activated warning measures” such as signs with flashing LED lights that alert drivers before they enter roadways going the wrong direction. 

Undersecretary and State Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver and his team had already been working on efforts to combat wrong-way driving earlier this year, he said. But after Trainor’s death Healey told them to accelerate this work. The effort will ultimately invest between $50 and $75 million, he said. Work is expected to be ongoing through 2026 and 2027.  

“This is a comprehensive approach, and it’s designed not just to detect wrong-way drivers, but to prevent wrong-way drivers in the first place,” Gulliver said. “That is the number one thing that we can do.”

Safety upgrades are being added to highway ramps and interchanges around Massachusetts, such as enhanced “wrong way” and “do not enter” signs. Improved pavement markings, lighting fixtures, and directional arrows are all meant to reduce driver confusion, officials said. 

For locations without existing infrastructure, the state is piloting “next-generation” detection technologies. Officials are testing out a system that sends alerts directly to mapping apps used by motorists if wrong-way drivers are detected, Gulliver said. 

Officials are ramping up efforts to collect data about new potential hot spots that could require curb or island realignment, ramp reconfiguration, or “channelization enhancements.”   

The state has purchased several “wrong-way detection trailers,” which can be deployed quickly to dangerous areas as they are identified, Gulliver said. 

Since June of 2024, State Police have responded to 680 reports of wrong-way drivers, Col. Geoffrey Noble said. 

“Every one of these incidents represents a potential tragedy, and they could have been prevented,” he said. “Today’s announcement is an investment in prevention. The combination of advanced detection technology and critical highway improvements will provide powerful tools to help eliminate this dangerous trend and save lives.”