With an $8.3 million construction price tag anticipated to be 100 percent reimbursed by state funding, Branford’s Main Street reconstruction project is going forward with an increased scope of work.

On Feb. 8, the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) voted to fully bond the project, with the knowledge the estimated $8.3 million in eligible construction costs will be refunded to the Town through state monies including Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program (LoTCIP) funding.

State reimbursement for Branford project’s construction costs were authorized by the South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG), which approves all LoTCIP requests. Branford has also received a commitment to fund for the revised scope from the CT Department of Transportation.

For its part, Branford will pay $650,000 for project design consulting services. The project consultant is Weston & Sampson (Rocky Hill). The RTM and Board of Finance (BOF) approved a budget transfer request to increase a $250,000 appropriation for Main Street reconstruction consulting services to $650,000 to accommodate the large increase in scope.

On Feb. 8, the RTM followed recommendations of the BOF and RTM Public Services and Ways and Means committees, voting to approve an additional $5,550,000 in bonding to be added to $2,750,00 in bonds previously approved for the construction project, for a total of $8.3 million in bonding.

When the project was originally developed in 2021, it had a construction cost estimate of $2.472 million, and received $2.75 million in bonding support from the Town.

The project was born following a state-proposed Main Street rotary construction project involving Route 146 (South Main Street), which was then revised to a Town project involving reconstructing Main Street together with adjusting some curb elevations, transitions and crosswalk work. Public input was also gathered for the project.

Branford First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove said working with the consultant on the project led to the opportunity to pursue funding for an increased scope of work.

“As we brought on the consultant, who has some experience with this [LoTCIP] program, and they were doing the survey work and looking at the conditions, they said we could actually address it even to a greater extent,” said Cosgrove, speaking to the RTM on Feb. 8.

Some of the improvements will also address any sidewalks, transitions and slopes which currently don’t meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.

“That’s why there was such a significant increase in the scope of this project; because we found out this program will pay for those improvements, as well,” Cosgrove continued. “So we went back to the [SCRCOG] and requested to expand the scope of the project, and we received the funds for this overall project.”

Cosgrove said the Town’s commitment to pay $650,000 for project consulting services provides “...a great opportunity to leverage” $8.3 million of in-state grants to rejuvenate the center of town.

“The municipality is responsible for 100 percent of design [and] the LoTCIP dollars can be used to cover 100 percent of construction,” said Cosgrove, adding, “..there may be some ineligible expenses if we want to extend outside of that project while we’re disturbing it.”

The Main Street reconstruction project will extend from the intersection of Chestnut Street through the center of town to the intersection of Laurel Street.

What’s in the Project

Residents may recall the last transformation of Branford’s downtown Main Street, a reconstruction project that took place in the early 1990’s. Over the years, from curb to curb, Main Street has deteriorated and is now encumbered by numerous utility cuts, aging pedestrian crosswalks and drainage issues.

As described by Town Engineer John Hoefferle in a letter to the BOF, in addition to the original project scope of full-depth reconstruction of roadway and parking areas and resetting/replacing granite curbing, the new scope of work includes full replacement of all brick sidewalks along Main Street; roadway and pedestrian LED lighting conversions for energy conservation; additional lighting where deemed necessary; crosswalk signalization upgrades; drainage upgrades; street furniture, including new garbage receptacles and benches where necessary; and other sidewalk amenities, such as tree pits, seat walls and ring gardens.