NORTH KINGSTOWN – Quonset Development Corp. last week officially opened the business park’s first new pier in nearly 70 years.
The new Terminal 5 Pier and Blue Economy Support Docks at the Port of Davisville will support a range of vessels and cargoes, QDC says, including smaller boats and the short-term docking needs of small businesses, emerging companies, and research and development organizations.
“Thanks to the consistent support of our partners in government and the private sector, we continue to make major investments to improve, upgrade and expand the Port of Davisville,” QDC Managing Director Steven J. King said in a statement. “The new pier and support docks will serve as a gateway to Narragansett Bay for local small and growing businesses, filling a vital need for easily accessible waterfront access.”
The Terminal 5 Pier and Blue Economy Support Docks was funded entirely through State Fiscal Recovery Funds, which Rhode Island received under the American Rescue Plan Act.
Elected officials and Quonset business leaders joined King for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new pier on Sept. 12.
Amid the celebratory occasion, state officials also drew attention to darker news for the business park. In a move that U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., called “a senseless attack on this economic center for our state,” the Trump administration last month withdrew an $11.25 million federal grant that would support additional upgrades at Quonset.
“We can’t allow this to continue,” Reed said in a statement, “and we’ve got to keep working and strategically investing to wisely develop this site so it benefits the people of Rhode Island now, in the future and for generations to come.”
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
