There has been a surge in wrong-way crashes on Connecticut roads this year.

The Department of Transportation says that this year, the state has already doubled what it has seen in the last two years in fatal wrong-way crashes.

State police say there have been 16 crashes and 18 deaths so far this year.

The DOT says about 80% of the drivers involved in wrong-way crashes were impaired, but they are working to help that problem.

The DOT is working to set up a pilot program at 15 different locations around the state where there will be 360-degree cameras.

Those cameras will detect cars driving the wrong way and immediately flash bright lights and notify state police.

Josh Morgan, with the DOT, says it's important to always stay alert.

“If there's someone on the road and they encounter someone heading in the wrong direction, please pull over and call 911, alert state police, and alert the operators of what you just saw and hopefully you can get that person to pull over before a tragedy happens,” said Morgan.

Construction on these cameras will begin early next year, and the project is expected to be finished by the end of 2023.

The pilot program is an expansion of one camera that was put up in Danbury. So far, that camera has been activated 10 times, showing cars heading the wrong way, but there have been no reported crashes.