Branford: Blizzard Aftermath

It’s not often that everything stops in a town, including traffic, for 17 hours. But that’s what happened after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered all traffic off all state roads as major snowstorm enveloped Connecticut. It was a first for the state.

Mary Johnson, our photographer, set out to capture the impact of the storm Tuesday morning, a few hours before the governor lifted the travel ban at 2 p.m. The sun had just peeked through the bitterly cold, overcast skies in mid-morning.

She spied a neighbor as he began to snake his way down a path in his first effort to plow out his driveway. It was still snowing. 

She started in the center of town, near the Town Green.

All was quiet.

Schools were closed. The Blackstone Memorial Library seemed elegant on her snow-laden lawn. 

This was a day for trucks, of all sizes and shapes, to haul away snow. Here is one near Town Hall.

Here’s another on Main Street. With cars banned from state roads, it was far easier to get the roads cleared, every official agreed.

The main state roads were looking good. Here’s the intersection of Route 1 and Short Beach Road, both state roads.

Town Hall was closed though First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove was at his desk. The fire and police departments were open. 

So were all the volunteer fire stations located in communities across town. Here’s the one at Indian Neck. 

All post offices were closed, an unusual occurrence. Remember when ​“neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night” could keep the postman from his appointed rounds? Well, yesterday’s snowfall did just that. There were no mail deliveries to a large swath of the Northeast, the Associated Press reported.

Virtually all businesses were closed.

There were some exceptions.

Lenny’s seafood restaurant was open.

So was the Mobil gas station at Cedar Street. 

There were other places to check on, the beach at Pawson Park, for example.

And nearby Linden Avenue whose road had collapsed under water during Storm Irene on August 28, 2011. A new Linden Avenue road survived Storm Sandy a year later. 

Here’s a scene along the way.

By day’s end, the sunset said it all.