Narragansett Bay Commission Purchases Properties for Storm Water Tunnel Project
The Narragansett Bay Commission purchased at least 10 properties on or near the Pawtucket riverfront to help facilitate construction of a massive new tunnel.
This tunnel will help capture storm water runoff and reduce pollution, reported the Valley Breeze.
The 10 properties purchased by NBC are the following:
• 50 Pleasant St., purchased on July 1 for $750,000;
• 5 Central Ave., a mill property previously owned by American Products Realty and purchased by NBC for $400,000;
• 660 Roosevelt Ave., previously owned by the R.I. Trucking Association and purchased by NBC for $630,000;
• 672 Roosevelt Ave., a home purchased for $185,000 July 2020;
• 17 Nassau St., a vacant property purchased for $332,000 July 2020;
• And vacant properties on Nassau Street, 2 Bishop St., 775 School St., 804 School St., and another on School Street, were purchased for a combined $4.55 million December 2019.
The overall cost of the tunnel work is $548 million, according to officials
According to Chief of Staff Dylan Zelazo, this storm water system modernization work should greatly benefit other major projects, including the soccer stadium project and new train station nearby. This project aims to address runoffs from large swaths of paved areas.
The combined sewer overflow system phase 3 upgrades by NBC will help store and treat up to 58.5 million gallons of storm water and sewage from Central Falls and Pawtucket before it reaches the river, according to the Valley Breeze.
The project is a 2.2 mile collection tunnel that will run from Pawtucket to the Bucklin Point wastewater treatment facility in East Providence. The tunnel will be dug at a depth of 150-200 feet.
Completion of the tunnel is expected to take several years. Tunnel boring is scheduled to begin in two years.
This project is the first of four segments planned for phase 3 and additional connections and segments will be completed through 2041.
