WHAT: Ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the new pier at the University of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay Campus, which will provide support services to research vessels and serve as a research platform with full access to Narragansett Bay. Funded by the National Science Foundation, URI’s next-generation regional class research vessel, Narragansett Dawn, scheduled to arrive in 2024, will bring new technologies, greater capabilities, and course-altering discoveries. The 199-foot Narragansett Dawn will be one of only three such research vessels in the nation.
In November 2018, Rhode Islanders approved a $45 million bond issue to fund a new pier and other phase-one improvements at the campus. The original wooden pier, built in 1963, had more than exceeded its service life and was unable to accommodate the new vessel. The bond was an essential component of securing the new $125-million federally-funded research vessel.
The height of the new pier is consistent with the most up-to-date sea-level rise projections provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The deck is 12.75 feet above mean lower low water, which represents a 5.35-foot increase over the old pier. The dock is 200 feet long by 42 feet wide. The approach trestle (connecting bridge from land to the dock) is about 210 feet long by 24 feet wide. Both consist of concrete decks and beams supported by concrete-filled steel piles driven between 120 feet to 150 feet deep into the sea floor. Other new features are a 2-ton davit crane for lifting instruments, undersea vehicles and small boats, and a research shed with three moon pools to deploy instruments that monitor the bay.
WHO: U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor Christopher Abhulime, Rhode Island Rep. Teresa Tanzi, Rhode Island Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee, Rhode Island Sen. Alana DiMario, URI President Marc Parlange, and Graduate School of Oceanography Dean Paula Bontempi. Remarks from U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse to be read during the program.
WHEN: Friday, March 5, 2023, 10 a.m.
WHERE: URI’s Narragansett Bay Campus, 215 South Ferry Road. Parking is available in Lot A at the intersection of Tarzwell Road and South Ferry Road.
TO MAKE COVERAGE ARRANGEMENTS: Contact Dave Lavallee, URI Marketing and Communications, 401-874-5862, dlavallee@uri.edu, cell, 401-465-4291.