RIPTA receives additional $4.3M for Newport Gateway Center improvements

THE RHODE Island Public Transit Authority received an additional $4.3 million in federal funding for exterior repair and improvements to the Newport Gateway Center.
THE RHODE Island Public Transit Authority received an additional $4.3 million in federal funding for exterior repair and improvements to the Newport Gateway Center.

NEWPORT – The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority received an additional $4.3 million in federal funding for exterior repair and improvements to the Newport Gateway Center, one of the authority’s main transit hubs.
According to information from U.S. Sen. Jack F. Reed’s office, the latest award brings federal contributions for the project up to $6 million.
The congressional delegation last year helped secure $1.6 million in federal financing to help RIPTA cover costs of rebuilding and strengthening infrastructure damaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. That grant, from the Federal Transit Administration, has been used to start design plans to improve passenger protection and reduce flooding at the Newport Gateway Center.
When design work began, it became clear to RIPTA that more work than initially anticipated was needed at the transit hub and visitor’s center on America’s Cup Avenue. RIPTA notified the FTA about the issues, and received the additional $4.3 million for the project.
The federal funding will cover 90 percent of the estimated $6.6 million total project cost; the remaining 10 percent is being contributed by the city of Newport, the news release said.
“I commend RIPTA, Mayor Napolitano and their partners for making a successful case and I am pleased to have helped make these resiliency funds available … Not only will the new facility better serve the community, but it should also make the Newport Gateway Center more resilient the next time a big storm hits,” Reed said in a statement.
Raymond Studley, CEO of RIPTA, said increased federal funding will allow RIPTA to be able to better support city and state goals for green infrastructure.
The Newport Gateway Center is an intermodal facility that houses the Newport Visitor’s Center, customer parking, bus berths, bicycle facilities and taxi stands.
The new plans call for reusing existing steel columns to support a permanent, contiguous roof that can provide better passenger protection and better withstand future storms. The project includes drainage for the new roof and repaving of the sidewalks and parking areas. In order to comply with Newport’s sewer codes, as much storm water as possible needs to be kept on site and plans will include a natural way to do that, such as a “rain garden.”

RIPTA is working with the city and a Design Review Committee to come up with a design appropriate for the city’s historic waterfront, the release said.

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