PROVIDENCE – Efforts to keep Providence’s iconic flood barrier on top of rising waters will get a $1 million boost from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Providence Resilience Partnership on Thursday announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has included $1 million in its budget to study potential climate weaknesses in the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier.
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Built by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers more than 50 years ago, the barrier was once considered a state-of-the-art solution to protecting the capital city against flooding. But environmental advocates and city leaders, including those with Providence Resilience Partnership, have started calling for upgrades to the structure, fearing it’s no match for rising sea levels and increasingly severe natural disasters.
“As climate-related severe weather rampages across the country, coupled with sea level rise we see along the coast, it’s critical to assess the resilience of a key protective structure for Rhode Island’s economic center,” Michele Jalbert, executive director of the Providence Resilience Partnership, said in a statement. “We are thrilled that this funding was prioritized in the federal budgeting process.”
At stake is the state’s economic engine, a city where flood insurance covers about $163 million worth of properties, yet almost $3.8 billion worth would be exposed in a Category 3 hurricane, according to the Providence Resilience Partnership report.
Both the PRP and the Providence Emergency Management Agency have recommended upgrades to, or even a total replacement of, the existing barrier in reports published in 2021 and 2020, respectively. The city of Providence also set aside $3 million of its American Rescue Plan Act funds to repair and replace certain landlocked components of the barrier, but the river gates themselves, and anything in the water is under the domain of the Army Corps of Engineers.
The Army Corps funding will pay to assess the “climate vulnerability” of the barrier. U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., also helped to secure the funding for the study, the release stated.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Lavin@PBN.com.
