12-R109

2012 -- S 2438 AS AMENDED

Enacted 03/01/12

S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N

RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THAT THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF

TRANSPORTATION DESIGNATE THE PORTS OF RHODE ISLAND AS DESTINATION

PORTS AS PART OF THE CURRENT PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE

MARINE HIGHWAY SHIPPING PROGRAM

Introduced By: Senators Sosnowski, Sheehan, Walaska, Bates, and Goodwin

Date Introduced: February 16, 2012

     WHEREAS, United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has identified 18

marine corridors and designated six initiatives for further development as part of “America’s

Marine Highway Program”; and

     WHEREAS, These all-water routes consist of 11 corridors that can serve as extensions of

the United States transportation system; and

     WHEREAS, These corridors identify routes where water transportation presents an

opportunity to offer relief from landside traffic congestion, excessive air emissions, and other

environmental concerns or challenges; and

     WHEREAS, In these corridors, Secretary LaHood has designated the nearby Port of New

Bedford as a Marine Highway Initiative; and

     WHEREAS, In 2009, the Rhode Island General Assembly established a Special

Legislative Commission to Study Potential Economic Opportunities in the Development of Port

Facilities in Rhode Island, known as the “Port Commission,” and charged it with studying Rhode

Island’s port-related economy, with the intent of making specific recommendations to better

utilize Rhode Island’s coastal resources and unique geographic location to create employment

opportunities for Rhode Islanders during the worst economic downturn since the Great

Depression; and

     WHEREAS, After completing three years of study, the Commission has learned that:

     (1) The Port of Providence has received a $10.5 million TIGER grant that will fund the

purchase and installation of two high performance harbor cranes which will enhance the port’s

ability to continue its existing bulk material operations, while expanding its capabilities to

accommodate container operations;

     (2) The Port of Davisville also received a $22.3 million TIGER grant that will fund pier

and structural improvements, and install railroad track, ballast, and ties in the Pier 2 area, as well

as purchase a port crane; and

     (3) These capital investments enable both facilities to better accommodate Marine

Highway cargo shipments; and

     (4) The ports both have extensive rail interconnections into Rhode Island’s $230 million

Freight Rail Improvement Project; and

     (5) The Port of Davisville also provides a 7,500-foot main runway with instrument

landing systems, making the facility truly intermodal; and

     (6) The Port of Providence will post a 44-foot draft, capable of accepting most world-

scale cargo vessels; and

     (7) Upon completion of its proposed dredging program, the Port of Davisville, the 5th

largest auto import facility in the U.S. specializing in RO-RO and ship channel, will post a 35-

foot draft, which will be enough to accommodate all current and future automotive ships; and

     (8) ProvPort’s 2008 cargo volume exceeded 3.1 million tons, ranking it second in New

England after Boston; and

     (9) The Port of Davisville is a designated foreign trade zone (105) only eight nautical

miles from open water and is capable of handling other cargos, such as processed fish, and project

cargos, such as steel and wind energy components; and

     (10) Both ports provide easy access for hinterland cargos as they are situated close to

major interstate arteries, including the state’s $600 million I-195/I-95 relocation and enhancement

project and the recently completed $130 million Route 403 access highway to Routes 4 and I-95;

now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby requests that the United States Department of Transportation designate the Ports of Rhode

Island as destination ports as part of the current planning and implementation of the Marine

Highway Shipping Program, thus yielding additional federal funding and creating new jobs while

offering relief from landside traffic congestion, excessive air emissions, and other environmental

concerns; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he is hereby authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.

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LC01711

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