PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Infrastructure Bank marked “Infrastructure Week” with a series of announcements on water treatment and road improvement projects, and a key future event.
The Providence-based quasi-public infrastructure-financing agency last week joined more than 500 affiliated organizations, companies and cities hosting more than 100 events nationwide to highlight “the positive impact of infrastructure investment on public health, local economies and social mobility,” the bank said.
Infrastructure Bank CEO Jeffrey Diehl joined Woonsocket officials at a ceremony to mark the ongoing construction of the city’s future drinking water treatment plant, which the bank is financing. The new facility will replace Woonsocket’s 60-year-old plant. The bank has provided the city with $28 million to finance the early design and construction stages of the new plant. In coming months, the bank plans to lend $29 million more to the project for the final construction stages.
As part of the weekly events, bank and local officials broke ground for water system improvements in the Burrillville villages of Harrisville and Oakland. The bank provided $2.9 million in grant funding to replace the Oakland Association’s well-based water system, which is contaminated with perfluoroalkyl substances. Harrisville Water will provide drinking water to Oakland residents and surrounding homeowners who currently source their water from contaminated wells, the bank said.
That followed the bank’s announcement that it will finance $18.5 million for road and bridge projects in Central Falls, Pawtucket and Westerly. It said the municipalities will save $1.4 million in interest payments by financing their projects through the bank.
Westerly received the bulk of the money – $14.8 million – for resurfacing and reconditioning of 21 miles of roads and for the construction of the Boombridge Road Bridge.
In addition, the bank announced it will host its third annual Infrastructure Summit at the R.I. Convention Center on Sept. 26. For the past two years, the summit has convened hundreds of public- and private-sector professionals to collaborate on solutions for Rhode Island’s infrastructure challenges, big and small, the bank said.
Scott Blake is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Blake@PBN.com.
