A seawall and wharf repair project with a four-month construction window, anticipated to kick off "on or around" Thursday, April 1, will close down access to the Branford Point town dock area, according to news posted by the Town of Branford at its Facebook page on Saturday, March 20. Shutting down those areas is hoped to help "advance" the schedule of the 120 days the contractor is allowed to complete the work, according to the post.

The Town will close the Branford Point parking area, wharf, and sidewalks south of the driveway circle to the general public to allow contractor use. Town parking in the lot at Parker Memorial Park accessed from Harbor Street will remain open for access to the park and Branford Point beach areas.

The Town of Branford Engineering Department recently completed a bidding process which awarded the project to Loureiro Construction, Inc. (Plainville).

In January, the Representative Town Meeting approved a recommendation from the Board of Finance (BOF) to transfer of $225,000 from the Town's general fund to create a total budget of $450,000 for the project, allowing it to go out to bid.

As Town Engineer John Hoefferle explained to the BOF in December, 2020, originally, work to shore up a partial failure found along the seawall beneath the town dock was proposed in August, 2019, when the Town approved funding an expense of approximately $225,000 for the work. However, the project was halted after a review by a design engineer found shallow bedrock at points where seawall repair was needed, together with signficant deterioration to the wooden wharf structural elements above. Addressing those issues created the need to request additional funding of $225,000 for the project; for a total ask of $450,000.

The work anticipated to begin April 1 will include drilling into bedrock to create a solid base for piles to be driven in at those points where the piles would otherwise not reach sufficient mud depth; as well as replacing the deteriorated wharf structural and heavy timber elements.

Residents are invited to direct any questions or comments before or during construction to the Town of Branford Engineering Department at (203) 315-0606 or email to engineering@branford-ct.gov