As the Federal Railway Administration (FRA) continues to narrow its focus to bring a proposed high-speed Northeast Corridor railway through Guilford and Branford, Branford First Selectman James B. Cosgrove has followed Guilford First Selectman Joseph Mazza in voicing opposition to the project.

In an April letter to the FRA, Mazza described the plan as dangerous to the area’s ecological system and one that would “destroy the character of Branford, Guilford, and towns east of Guilford.” Cosgrove last week issued a letter to the FRA expressing “strong trepidation” and calling on the federal body to engage the public so others can be heard.

The FRA is exploring adding quad-track express rail as part of a high-speed Northeast Corridor between Washington D.C. and Boston. Currently in the “preferred alternative” stage of proposal, this area’s segment of the quad-track plan can next be moved into the final, “record of decision” phase at any time, meaning work on the segment can go forward when funding is secured.

Members of a grassroots group that first raised the alarm with local and state leaders about the quadtrack proposal and its impacts on Guilford and Branford are now urging residents to send their own message to the FRA. Group member Rob Vavasour, a Guilford resident, said residents need to get on board now to help derail the FRA’s plans.

Vavasour said the FRA is ignoring all requests for advance studies to determine the impacts of the proposed quad-track plan, including some 14 historic homes that will be impacted on Leetes Island Road. He said the FRA is also ignoring federal law requiring notification of the project to residents of historic districts and that town and state leaders also aren’t being brought up to speed on the matter by the FRA.

“We have a right to know. We are not bystanders. We pay their salaries,” said Vavasour.

The group is asking residents to email FRA Acting Administrator Patrick Warren at info@necfuture.com and ask to remove the Branford-Guilford quad tracking portion plan from the record of decision until it can be properly studied and vetted. The group also scheduled this area’s first public information session on the matter on June 7 at Guilford’s Nathanael Greene Community Center (after press time).

A leader of the effort to turn back the project in Old Lyme, Gregory Stroud, director of Special Projects for the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation and co-founder of SECoast, was invited to discuss impacts of the FRA’s quad-tracking plans for Guilford and Branford, and answer questions about the ongoing regulatory process. SECoast is a non-profit non-partisan collaborative effort partnering Southeastern Connecticut and Lower Connecticut River Valley residents with the leaders and expertise of CT Trust for Historic Preservation.

Guilford and Branford local and state leaders now opposing the project include State Senator Ted Kennedy, Jr. (D-12), state representatives Sean Scanlon (D-98) and Lonnie Reed (D-102), Mazza, and Cosgrove.

Local historic and land preservations groups in both towns are also opposed and efforts are underway to try to glean more information on the proposal and register objections. A Stony Creek resident involved in the grass roots group, Jon Wilson, has authored a Save Our Shoreline petition that can be viewed and signed at https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/save-our-shoreline. In describing the FRA proposal, Wilson notes in the petition background, “there is no benefit to the people of New Haven, Branford, or Guilford (or anyone else in Connecticut for that matter). In the entire thousand-plus page report, only 29 words were devoted to this 150- to 300-foot-wide, eight-mile long easement. None of those words referenced an environmental study specific to the new track proposed. Furthermore, the exact location of the new track was not provided. This is just another example of a government ‘Bridge to Nowhere.’”