Graduation for the class of 2026 will, again, be held on the Branford High School turf field, a shift from its traditional place on the historic Branford Green.

Last year, a planned construction project also displaced the graduation ceremony from the Town Green and it was expected to return back to the Green for the 2026 graduation. However, delays in the project have once again returned the ceremony back to BHS.

Some seniors have mixed feelings about the change. 

“I kind of miss it being at the Green,” said Max Perez. “I remember being so excited when I was a kid to graduate there. I feel like the turf is better, though.” 

On the contrary, Ella Lordan said she doesn’t mind having graduation at the high school instead of the Green.

“I kind of like it because I feel like it’s more symbolic of our journey,” she said.

Construction has already begun on the Green Reconstruction Project, which has funded about $11.3 million to Colonna Concrete and Asphalt Paving, the contractor performing repairs to the roads. According to the town’s website, there have been similar road projects in surrounding towns such as Chester, Trumbull, Danbury, and Waterford. 

Colonna Concrete is allowed to work a maximum of 240 days, not counting shutdown days, with the exception that the work on the Green is estimated to be finished by late November of this year, according to the town’s website.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Nathan Frohlich '27

Workers digging up part of Main Street.

Branford has also collaborated with M&J Engineering P.C., who will work as inspectors to make sure complications and inconveniences to the project are repaired and taken care of, before they occur. 

There’s also a safety element to the project: public input has been put into the choice to alter the streets around the Green, as a major change to the roads hasn’t run since 1990. A concern among residents is that the pavement would’ve eventually become rougher to drive on, gaining multiple cracks with age.

Here are some of the improvements that are planned, according to the town’s website: 

• Installation of the drainage system – better flow of excess surface water and sewage removal
• Underground electrical – helping prevent power outages and delivering electricity by underground cables rather than the utility poles
• Curbing and sidewalks – repairing the fractures, crevices, and bumps created by aging and pressure
• Landscaping – adding various plants to modify the visual aesthetic

Graduation is set for June 10, 2026 at 6 p.m. on the turf once again.