Branford Roads Endangered After Hurricanes

Branford has officially approved a regional Hazard Mitigation Plan for its roads and houses, listing Linden Avenue as the number-one project on its wish list for federal funds. (Photo is of Hotchkiss Grove.) 

The proposed Linden Avenue project, with a pricetag of $5 million, would prevent what happened during Tropical Storm Irene, when a surge undermined the only road leading to the Indian Neck-Pawson Park peninsula where 400 families live. (Click here to read about that.) The following year, in 2012, came Hurricane Sandy, one of the deadliest storms in United States history.

The hazard Mitigation Plan was spearheaded by the South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG), which developed the regional plan with 10 towns: Branford, Bethany, Hamden, Madison, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Wallingford, West Haven and Woodbridge. Five other towns in the SCRCOG — East Haven, Guilford, Meriden, Milford and the city of New Haven — already have local plans.

The Board of Selectmen (BOS) unanimously approved the plan Wednesday. FEMA has completed its review of the plan and approved it pending adoption by the local municipalities.

“This is a starting point,” First Selectman James Cosgrove told the Eagle. ​“This will give us the opportunity to receive FEMA money for mitigation projects.”

Cosgrove said other projects can be added to the plan as times goes by. ​“There are a lot of flood-prone areas,” he said.

Economic Impact on Branford

The Hazard Mitigation Plan lists potential risks for each of the 10 town and the impacts in terms of property damage and economic impact.

And indeed the plan is big. A copy is available at Town Hall. It can also be accessed online by clicking on the Engineering Department on the Town’s website.

Pages 141 through 153 list specific concerns for Branford. One chart lists vulnerable assets, including 26,414 buildings, 19 critical facilities and 969 historic assets that could be impacted by hurricanes and severe storms. Other charts list the potential dollar impact from storms and coastal flooding.

There are also discussions of specific problems in Branford and potential solutions.

The list of roads with primary concern for flooding include roads that stretch from Short Beach to Stony Creek: Hickory Road, Burban Drive, Tabor Drive, Beckett Avenue, (pictured) Meadow Street, Sunset Beach, Riverside Drive, Summer Island Road, Wavery Park area, Thimble Island Road, Shore Drive (Route 142), Limewood Avenue (Route 146), Island View Avenue, Club Parkway, and School Ground Road.

Some possible solutions include elevating roadways, improving storm water drainage, or installing flood gates on Beckett Avenue.

Town Engineer Explains Plan

Town Engineer Janice Plaziak, the local Hazard Mitigation Plan representative, told the Eagle that adopting the plan was a vital step. ​“We have to have an adopted plan in order to get grants,” she said.

FEMA requires towns to have plans before they are eligible to receive federal money to mitigate the effects of natural disasters. Branford submitted an application last fall for funding for Linden Avenue.

Plaziak said it takes time for grant applications to be reviewed, and that the town is still a contender for the federal money for Linden Avenue. 

Regional hazard mitigation planning began in 2012 when the SCRCOG used grant money to hire Jamie Caplan Consulting LLC of Massachusetts, a company specializing in emergency management services.

Caplan and town representatives met monthly to formulate the plan, and used results of a survey of residents’ opinions about hazards in each community. Click here to read a story about that.

Caplan and the consulting team also looked at regional profiles, collected data, compiled risk assessments, and talked to people about identifying hazards. She listed the priority hazards in the region such as severe winter storms and Nor’easters, hurricanes and tropical storms, coastal and river flooding, rising seas and road flooding.

The SCROG and Caplan conducted a workshop in May 2013 to address residents’ concerns. A majority of those in attendance were from the Linden Avenue area. Click here to read about that.

Repairs to Linden Avenue after Tropical Storm Irene tallied about $400,000, with the Linden Shore District responsible for $56,000. There was also some damage, but to a lesser extent, during Super Storm Sandy. The peninsula was significantly damaged by the deadly 1938 hurricane and again by Hurricane Gloria in 1985.

During last year’s workshop, then First Selectman Anthony “Unk” DaRos said long-range planning was vital. “We have to look at the big picture,” he said. “You can’t mitigate for these overnight …It takes a big plan to do this.”

Four Other Branford Projects in Hazard Mitigation Plan

In addition to Linden Avenue, the other four initially proposed projects listed in Branford’s section of the Hazard Mitigation Plan are:

• Install standby generators at two shelters; and upgrade generators at the Police Station, the Volunteer Services Center, and the Waste Water Treatment Plant. The estimated cost is $900,000.

• Install flood protection measures at Meadow Street and Indian Neck Avenue, which would also protect the CL&P substation. The cost is estimated at $500,000.

• Raise the electronics at the Hotchkiss Sewage Pump Station at a cost ranging from $2,500 to $7,500, to prevent damage from a storm surge.

• Promote awareness and education of what property owners and businesses can do to prevent property damage and reduce injuries during natural disasters. The estimated cost is $50,000.

Branford’s participation in the regional plan was one of the town’s responses to the devastation from Tropical Storm Irene. Click here to read a story about that. The necessity for regional planning was heightened when Super Storm Sandy hit, followed by several severe winter storms. Click here for a photo story about the destruction from Sandy. Photos of some of the roads mentioned in this story are in the 2012 story. 
###