FROED One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722-7700 Tel 508-324-2620 Fax 508-677-2840 info@froed.org		COUNCIL OKS $1.1M FOR PIER City looking to expand maritime industry The Herald News, Wednesday, April 2, 2008 Fall River — A 150-foot steel floating dock for passenger ships will be built at the State Pier with $1.1 million released Tuesday as part of the latest Seaport Bond Bill funding. Mayor Robert Correia said the release of these funds from a $40 million bonding package approved for a multi-use maritime facility was unanimously approved by the 15-member Seaport Advisory Council, chaired by Lt. Gov. Tim Murray. The newest commitment will give “full access for pedestrians and disabled persons to excursion vessels, passenger ferries and small cruise ships using the facility,” Correia said. He said it could provide opportunities for cruise ships to dock between Rhode Island ports in Newport, Providence and Aquidneck Island, and other destinations to and from this city. Current commercial cargo carriers at the 123,000-square-foot transit shed for industrial use would be kept separate when in use, Correia said. Fall River was one of a dozen cities dividing $8.2 million in bond funding for state ports. Of those cities, Fall River received the largest amount by far, according to Murray and the Seaport Advisory Council. “Making smart, targeted investments in our harbors and ports to ensure they can accommodate growth in tourism, trade and fishing strengthens not only our coastal communities, but also enables them to serve as a resource for residents and businesses across the commonwealth,” Murray said. “The construction of a floating pier and dock is a key element of the revitalization effort of the State Pier, which will give Fall River the ability to grow its maritime industry and increase the attractiveness of tourism and recreational services for the public connected to the waterfront,” Correia said. “I’m thrilled,” he said of a commitment he hoped would happen this week. “It is going to show some significant progress on our waterfront.” The dock for passenger ships would consist of three attached 50-foot steel floats, 20 feet wide supported by steel floats. The floating docks would be accessed by a series of aluminum ramps, platforms and gangways, said Karl Hammond of PARE Corp., which is engineering the State Pier project. According to Kenneth J. Fiola Jr., who attended the advisory council meeting in Glocester with Correia, this first phase would include extending the wharf apron to connect to the floating dock. A next phase would entail building a 300-foot-plus layover pier for the passenger ships adjacent to the docks, said Fiola, who is executive vice president of the Fall River Office of Economic Development. The 10-acre State Pier is accessible from Water Street, with the new dock and pier to be built at the south end of the site near Borden & Remington, formerly the Tillotson property, officials said. The new funding, when added to $640,000 the advisory council approved for repairs to the pier’s south berth in late December, brings the total to more than $1.74 for reconstruction at the site. Correia, as a state representative, had sponsored legislation approved to provide $38 million for waterfront development by upgrading the State Pier and converting it into a split-use center, housing commercial and residential facilities. Under the waterfront and harbor redesign currently planned, the State Pier will include a three-story structure housing a restaurant, exhibition space, a boardwalk and roof deck. Electrical and waterline work have been completed, Richard Armstrong, director of pot development for the Seaport Advisory Council said when the prior funding was released. Fiola said he understood engineering by PARE for the floating dock and apron expansion was nearly completed. He said it’s the city’s hope construction could begin in the next fiscal year. Back