Quonset Receives $6 Million to Repair Damage From Irene

More than a year after Hurricane Irene whipped through the area, Quonset Business Park is getting some financial assistance from the federal government.

U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Representatives James Langevin and Cicilline and Gov. Lincoln Chafee announced on Monday that the business park and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation would receive $6 million in federal funding to make upgrades and repairs related to storm damage from Hurricane Irene, which whipped through the area in August 2011.

The funds will go toward rebuilding Quonset's Zarbo Avenue Bulkhead which protects three marine trades industry businesses from waterfront storm surges. Seventy years after the bulkhead was built, it sustained heavy damage from Hurricane Irene – forcing nearby companies to relocate their equipment during storms for fear the bulkhead might fail.

The new bulkhead will be one to two feet taller than its predecessor to better protect the area near the waterfront. Quonset Development Corporation estimates the project will protect 80 existing jobs and create 32 new jobs by "encouraging investment in the currently vacant parcel of land on the bulkhead."