Following New Year's Day, fence installation and street-line striping contractors began putting the finishing elements in place on Branford's Harbor Street Bridge replacement project. On Jan. 2, Branford Town Engineer John Hoefferle responded to The Sound's request for an update on the delayed bridge project, saying the bridge should reopen to traffic within the next two weeks.

Hoefferel also shared that the fence and striping contractors weren't able to get to work on the bridge until after the holidays.

"It's been a long project, but one that was overdue," said Hofferele, in an email response sent January 2.

Back in 2017, former Town Engineer Janice Plaziak had underlined the need to replace the then-77-year-old bridge due to age and wear, during a project overview shared with residents at a public information session.

The bridge, roadway and sidewalk have been closed since May 14, 2018. The bridge was originally intended to be back in use by Sept. 10; but issues encountered, especially during excavation for the culvert, brought delays that lasted through the end of 2018.

The project's intial estimated price tag, according to 2017 state records, was $1,564,000.00, with over 46 percent of that cost reimbursed by the state with at $726,321.60 state grant commitment to be secured for the project. Hemlock Construction (Torrington) was awarded the contract with an initial window of 120 days to complete the project.

The new, pre-cast bridge echoes the original stone masonry façade of the original bridge, which was installed in 1940. The Harbor Street Bridge spans Mill Creek, which feeds into a tidal marsh to the west of the bridge and into Branford River to the east. During construction, a five-foot-wide temporary pipe was put in place which kept the creek and, by extension, the tidal marsh, connected to the river.

The new bridge is approximately the same scale as the original. When it reopens, it will have two 14-foot wide lanes (one for each direction) for a total lane width of 28 feet, in addition to concrete sidewalks, each spanning five feet in width, on both sides of the bridge.

Traffic diverted during the construction period has meant extra travel of about two miles round-trip for residents who regularly use the bridge; with detours by way of Maple Street, Short Beach Road or Stannard Avenue. During construction, access for regular traffic to Branford Point, Parker Memorial Park and the state Boat Launch remained open via the Stannard Road approach to Harbor Street.