The town of Stratford is working to mitigate flooding. Now, they'll have some help from the state.

On Monday, Gov. Ned Lamont announced the release of $5.5 million in state funding to support the Ferry Boulevard and Broad Street Flood Mitigation Project.

The project includes raising the elevation of Ferry Boulevard at the Broad Street intersection, elevating Broad Street, replacing the bridge over Ferry Creek and installing new tide gates to help alleviate recurrent flooding impacting nearby residential apartments and commercial properties.

"It's very effective and I know how important it is to the town," Lamont said.

Stratford has had issues with flooding before, and Mayor David Chess believes this project is a critical investment for the safety of the town. He said the Broad Street bridge is over 100 years old.

"Flooding down this corridor comes all the way up to our town center, all the way up to our train station. So if we can mitigate that, if we can make that a one in 100-year event, as opposed to one in a 10-year event, that's a good thing," Chess said.

The project is expected to go out for bids soon, and once construction starts, it will take a year to complete.