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New Home of DelDOT's Sign and Signal Shop Facilities Dedicated - January 17, 2008
Building to be named after former Central District Engineer Vasuki R. Hiraesave
Secretary of Transportation Carolann Wicks today celebrated the official opening of the new home of DelDOT's Sign and Signal Shop Facility. Builder Dave Hall, Inc., recently completed the $2.3 million building, which will house 40 employees.
The new 23,000 square foot facility replaces the 1940's era retrofitted airplane hanger that has been in use since the late 1950's. The "old hanger" was moved from the Dover Air Force Base in 1959 and transported down the highway to its present site on the DelDOT Campus. After the placement of the hanger, Department Sign Shop employees relocated from the old District offices off Governor's Avenue in downtown Dover in 1960.
The modern building is now the home of state-of-the-art sign equipment, featuring computer based sign design & fabrication, and indoor material storage. The building's size also provides room for new equipment that includes a metal shearing machine, a vinyl roller applicator, a border tape-cutting machine, a belt sander, two new hand-screening tables, and an area for filming and developing equipment. Sign Shop staff produce between 25,000 and 30,000 signs each year that are placed on Delaware's roadways.
DelDOT's Traffic Signal Construction & Maintenance staff also occupies the new space. They now have more room for repairs, testing, and fabrication of signal cabinets. Signal construction crews handle the placement and inspection of new traffic & pedestrian signals, ADA upgrades, fiber optic communications, traffic cameras, weather stations, loop and system detection, permanent variable message signs and variable speed limit signs. Signal maintenance staff is responsible for servicing and maintaining the state's entire valuable signal infrastructure. There are more than 900 traffic signals and hundreds of other key points throughout the state that need to be to constructed, maintained, and serviced every day.
This new building has been dedicated to the memory of Vasuki R. Hiraesave. Mr. Hiresave was the former Chief Engineer for DelDOT's Central District. He passed away in the line of duty on March 22, 2006. Vasuki began his career with the Department in January 1988 and held many important positions, including bridge design program manager, area engineer in North District, and field services & maintenance engineer. Mr. Hiresave was an early advocate for constructing a new facility to replace the out-dated and converted hanger. Additionally, he is recognized for his efforts to limit signs in the state right-of-way, and for encouraging the consolidation of signs on utility poles.
Many Current and Former Employees Tour the Facility and Attend the Ceremony:
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Last Updated: Thursday, 14-Aug-2008 14:41:46 Eastern Daylight Time
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