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07/27/2017 12:08 PMShuttered since July 18, 2016, Branford's state boat launch will re-open this Saturday, July 29, with a completely renovated design and upgrades making it one of the state's premiere launch facilities. The launch is also now handicap accessbile.
The Connecticut Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced the re-opening of the Branford boat launch at its website with the perfunctory message simply noting, "After major renovations the Branford State Boat Ramp will be open for boating use on Saturday, July 29, 2017."
The opening follows weeks of speculation and anticipation on the part of boaters, many of who have been forced to trailer their vessels to Guilford's state or town boat launches, or use the smaller Branford town boat launch in Stony Creek.
Last year's work on the Branford site was supposed to be complete in November 2016, but abruptly stopped in the fall of 2016. Work resumed in April 2017, when DEEP Director of Boating Division Eleanor Mariani told The Sound/Zip06 to expect an approximate six-week completion window. The renewed work began with solving a settling problem that occurred at the base of the new concrete ramp last fall.
The launch incorporates a new floating dock system and has been built to accommodate needs anticipated to span at least the next 25 years, according to Mariani. Specific information provided by the DEEP on the project at its start called for reconstructing the launch and make it a state-of-the-art, handicapped accessible facility. The ramp has been replaced with a two lane, grooved, concrete slab surface; the turning and parking areas redesigned and graveled; and concrete pavers installed around the ramp area to prevent erosion. The plans also noted the "ADA accessible, floating dock system will make launching and retrieval of boats safer and more efficient." The dock floats between the two concrete ramps. The old wooden pier beside the former asphalt ramp was torn down last year.
DEEP originally set the renovation project to begin in fall 2014 with a spring 2015 finish. However, the replacement work instead got underway in the spring of 2016, closing the outmoded launch for the summer 2016 boating season. Then, the work hit a snag last fall, and had to stop. In addition to the settling issue, work was delayed because the soil removed to bring in the new gravel lot had to be tested for contaminants before it could be hauled away. The process for receiving federal money for the project also had to be finalized at that time.
The $1 million boat launch upgrade has received 75 percent of its funding through a U.S. Fish and Wildlife grant and the remaining 25 percent through state bonding money that's already been secured and spent on the project, Mariani told Zip06/The Sound.
Branford's state boat launch is located at 38 Goodsell Point Road and launches into the Branford River. DEEP has been using its website to keep the public apprised of project process. See the site here