R.I. Infrastructure Bank to Fund New Municipal Resilience Projects

The Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank recently awarded $5.2 million in action grants for participants in the Municipal Resilience Program (MRP). Communities prioritized local actions through the program and will use the money to implement projects that will improve their climate resilience.

Funding for the action grants comes from the 2022 voter-approved Green Bond, which provided $16 million for municipal resilience projects. A previous round of $12 million in action grants was awarded in January.

“From more frequent and severe storms, to increased flooding, to coastal erosion, Rhode Island’s municipalities are experiencing the impacts of climate change,” said William Fazioli, executive director of the Infrastructure Bank. “We need to help our cities and towns invest in more resilient infrastructure solutions.”

With support from The Nature Conservancy, 38 of Rhode Island’s 39 municipalities have participated in the MRP workshop process to develop prioritized lists of actionable resilience plans and projects. Municipalities are then eligible to submit applications for action grants with a 25% local match requirement.

For this round of grants, the Infrastructure Bank received 19 proposals totaling $11.4 million in grant requests, far exceeding currently available funding.

After a competitive review process, the selection committee, with representatives from the Infrastructure Bank, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Statewide Planning, and the Coastal Resources Management Council, awarded these eight grants:

Burrillville ($750,000): Oakland Pump Station resiliency improvements. Located within the 100-year floodplain of the Clear River, the wastewater pump station is susceptible to flooding.

Cranston ($240,000): Furnace Hill Brook habitat and flooding concerns. The project is designed to restore local wetland habitat and reduce flood risk by replacing the existing road-stream crossings (undersized culverts) with nature-based solutions to restore stream habitat.

Hopkinton ($461,911): Strengthening flood resilience. Construction of a road-stream crossing upgrade at the intersection of Canonchet Road and a tributary to Canonchet Brook.

Johnston ($750,000): Atwood/Hartford flood mitigation. The project addresses chronic flooding at the intersection of Hartford and Atwood avenues.

Lincoln ($750,000): Stormwater infrastructure improvements. The proposed solutions include infrastructure improvements to the stormwater systems and installation of green stormwater infrastructure.

Middletown ($750,000): Green End and Berkeley culvert replacement. Project aims to address chronic flooding and water quality issues in the Maidford River and Bailey Brook watershed.

Providence ($750,000): India Point Park shoreline improvements. This project is designed to mitigate coastal flood by implementing living shoreline management and other nature-based solutions.

South Kingstown ($750,000): Saugatucket culvert improvements. This project involves the expansion of the Saugatucket Road culvert.

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