$1 trillion infrastructure plan should consider sea rise, says Whitehouse

By John Howell
Posted 4/11/17

By JOHN HOWELL Armed with a map showing that with a seven-foot rise in sea level, Warwick Neck would become an island during a 100-year storm, and with the sparkling waters off Conimicut Point as a backdrop, Rhode Island's two senators and Congressman

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$1 trillion infrastructure plan should consider sea rise, says Whitehouse

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Armed with a map showing that with a seven-foot rise in sea level, Warwick Neck would become an island during a 100-year storm, and with the sparkling waters off Conimicut Point as a backdrop, Rhode Island’s two senators and Congressman James Langevin yesterday pushed the Democratic $1 trillion “Blueprint to Rebuild America’s Infrastructure” plan.

According to Grover Fugate, director of the Coastal Resources Management Council, a seven-foot rise in sea level by the year 2100 may actually be conservative. He said that the most recent modeling preformed by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration show an increase of 9.8 feet for the end of this century.

The seven-foot estimate was enough to have people concerned.

“I don’t like what I see for Oakland Beach,” said Ward 6 Councilwoman Donna Travis.

Langevin, whose mother, June, lives on Shawomet Avenue, just a short distance from where the morning press conference was held, called the matter “personal.” A rise in sea level is also a personal matter for City Council President Joseph Solomon, who likewise has a home on Shawomet.

Senator Shelton Whitehouse offered a glimpse of what rising sea level could mean for Rhode Island. He said it would transform Block Island into two islands and make Jamestown three islands.

“We’re seeing these changes at a pretty fast rate in geological time,” he said.

In view of the forecasted changes, Whitehouse said there is “a new need for significant infrastructure investment.” And this is where Whitehouse spoke of President Trump and his commitment to spend a trillion dollars on the nation’s infrastructure.

“Bring it on,” Whitehouse said of the president’s plan. He questioned, however, how Trump aimed to accomplish such an investment through tax incentives.

“Rhode Island’s infrastructure needs a lot of investment to get back to a healthy state, let alone to prepare for rising seas and increasingly severe weather,” Whitehouse said in a statement. “We are the Ocean State, and our way of life and economy rely on critical infrastructure in coastal communities like Warwick.  Investing in infrastructure is a bipartisan issue, and I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues and the administration to create jobs, ensure safe roads, protect our communities, and lift the economy.”

Parag Agrawal, Director of the RI Division of Planning, said a seven-foot rise in sea level would affect 175 miles of state roads and 90 bridges. As for Warwick he put the totals at 16 miles of roads and 10 bridges. He said having a long-range transportation plan that takes into consideration a rise in sea level is critical to responding to the condition.

Warwick Fire Chief James McLaughlin also talked of the need to be prepared and to have a plan ready should the combination of sea level rise and a 100-year storm isolate Warwick Neck from the rest of Warwick. He said models of what could happen during various storms are vital in putting a plan together and understanding how best his department can respond.

“It’s not a question of whether it is going to happen,” he said, “but when it is going to happen.”

The map provided showed most of Conimicut inundated with bay waters flooding Buckeye Brook and extending into Warwick Pond. To the east, much of Apponaug would be flooded with Gorton Pond being affected by bay waters, too.

Mayor Scott Avedisian, who served as master of ceremonies, said sea level rise would bring the bay to parts of the community that have never seen water before.

Langevin thought the Democrats’ Blueprint to Rebuild an ideal program for bi-partisan support.

President Trump has repeatedly called for $1 trillion in infrastructure spending. In January, Senate Democrats proposed a $1 trillion infrastructure improvement blueprint, which would rebuild and reinforce infrastructure while creating jobs in Rhode Island and across the country. The blueprint contains $25 billion for upgrades to make communities more resilient to natural disasters and climate change, including funding for the Whitehouse-authored National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund.

The National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund was designed to support research, restoration and resiliency of coastal ecosystems and communities, including readying coastal roads and bridges for sea level rise and severe weather.  According to a release from Whitehouse’s office, Rhode Island has the highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges of any state, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.

“There is bipartisan consensus that our roads and bridges, our sewer and drinking water systems, our dams and levees; our transit systems, railroads and airports and our coastal communities, all are in need of investment,” said Senator Jack Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee said in a statement. "We have the programs in place to effectively deploy funding at the state and local level to help address these needs.  We need the President to work with us to put real money into them.”

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  • bendover

    LMAO! Shirley and Jacqueline had best go back and read "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying" and the "Art of the Deal". $1T dollars....ROTFLMAO! HEY, where is your great conspiracy of Putin and Trump being BFF's? This State needs to clean out the swamp alright, starting with you malingerers in Washington...Here is what you are going to be able to procure from this administration with your conspiracy theories and partisan obstructionism....NOTHING...You best break the news to The Queen of Raimondi..."Presidential material"...LOL! It gets funnier and yet more pathetic by the day, but not to worry, the Pavlovian dogs will swallow anything these bozos say, hook, line and sinker.

    Wednesday, April 12, 2017 Report this