This week’s Providence Business News has an excellent article about the recently completed $60 million Providence Harbor maintenance dredge. Thanks to the project — which restored the port’s federally designated channel to a depth of 40ft — the Port of Providence is experiencing tremendous growth:
R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council’s Dredging Coordinator Dan Goulet said the state contributed about $10.5 million to the more than $60 million project. And he said he’s seen evidence of a return on that investment. The deeper channel has been attracting new business, including Motiva Enterprises LLC in ProvPort.
“I see a whole lot more ships, which is great,” Goulet said, adding that at least one East Providence waterfront industry, Wilkes-Barre Pier, is planning a dredging project because “now they can bring larger ships, during all tides, up into the harbor. So the opportunity that this project has opened up for the state is enormous and the economic benefits, and not just for Providence, have high potential.”
“I see a whole lot more ships, which is great,” Goulet said, adding that at least one East Providence waterfront industry, Wilkes-Barre Pier, is planning a dredging project because “now they can bring larger ships, during all tides, up into the harbor. So the opportunity that this project has opened up for the state is enormous and the economic benefits, and not just for Providence, have high potential.”