Branford

Branford can refer to:

Branford, Connecticut

Branford is a shoreline town located on Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut, 8 miles (13 km) east of New Haven. The population was 28,026 at the 2010 census.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.0 square miles (73 km²); 22.0 square miles (57 km²) are land and 6.0 square miles (16 km²) (21.5%) are water, including the Branford River, Queach Brook and the Branford Supply Ponds. There are two harbors, the more central Branford Harbor and Stony Creek Harbor on the east end, and one town beach at Branford Point. Much of the town's border with East Haven to the west is dominated by Lake Saltonstall, a reservoir owned by the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority, and Saltonstall Mountain, part of the Metacomet Ridge, a mountainous trap rock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border. The southern terminus of the Metacomet Ridge, Beacon Hill, is located in Branford.

Branford (Shore Line East station)

Branford is a station along the Shore Line East commuter railroad between Stamford and New London, Connecticut. Branford is also a station on the northern section Northeast Corridor. Amtrak does not stop at this station but Amtrak trains pass through it.

History

Prior to the establishment of the Shore Line East system, Branford was a stop for Amtrak's Beacon Hill trains. The current station, with an ADA-compliant high-level side platform, opened on August 8, 2005, replacing a nearby earlier station with low-level platforms.

Ridership increases rendered the 199-spot parking lot at Branford insufficient. As a result, a 272-spot expansion was opened in June 2011, bringing total available parking at the station to 471 spots.

A second platform on the north side of the tracks was originally to be constructed beginning in November 2012. Construction on the $16.5M project - which includes the new platform, a pedestrian overpass with elevators, a drop-off lot on the north side of the tracks, and restoration of an existing parking lot - began in September 2013. Major construction took place in 2014 with the intention to open the new platform by August 2015.As of September 2015, the new platform and pedestrian bridge are officially scheduled to open on December 18, 2015, but will likely be delayed into 2016 due to the previous harsh winter and other issues.