School Starts in Branford While Work Goes On At Frances Walsh

BRANFORD, CT - Students, staff, teachers and administrators will be returning to a different looking Frances Walsh Intermediate school Tuesday morning as while classes get underway there is a lot going on around them.

School officials said some of the work construction areas will be off limits to everyone to ensure safety but expect that the classroom day will go on as it has in the past with little interruption.

Work started this summer on the $88.2 million project - the most expensive work the town has ever taken on. The town is footing the first $58 million of the cost while the state is paying for the rest.

The town hired Fusco Corporation as the construction manager for the project, which went through a competitive bid process and secured subcontractors for the various types of work to bring the project to completion.

The option selected, a hybrid project that will remodel some of the existing structure and build a new addition, was done so to maximize state reimbursement and to make sure students in school during construction could remain in place, officials said.

Those driving by the Walsh School will also notice or should notice that the Branford Police Department has installed a radar speed sign in front of the heavily travelled Damascus Road in front of the Frances Walsh Intermediate School.

The radar speed sign is an interactive sign, constructed of a series of LEDs that displays vehicle speed as motorists approach.

The speed limit on Damascus Road is 25 miles per hour.

The purpose of the radar speed signs it to slow cars down by making drivers aware when they are driving above the posted limits. They are used as a traffic calming device in addition to or instead of physical devices such as speed humps, speed cushions or speed tables.

Photos by Jack Kramer