Port of Davisville completes $83 million project

Third berth at Port of Davisville will support the booming offshore wind industry and Davisville’s auto-import business.

GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. (GZA) reports that its client Quonset Development Corp. (QDC) recently celebrated the official opening of the renovated and extended Pier 2 at the Port of Davisville, R.I., creating a third berth to support the booming offshore wind industry and Davisville’s auto-import business.

QDC retained GZA to provide a broad range of waterfront and geotechnical engineering and construction-phase consulting services for the $83 million project, which was delivered on time and $7 million under budget, according to Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee.

In addition to extending Pier 2 by 232 feet, the project also replaced the 2,100 linear feet of perimeter bulkhead to strengthen the pier’s load-bearing capacity. This capacity will support handling of large wind-turbine blades and components to and from ships calling on the port. The berth was also dredged to accommodate deeper draft vessels.

“The Port of Davisville has long been a critical economic engine for Rhode Island and New England as one of our country’s 10 biggest auto-importing facilities, and with these upgrades at Pier 2, the port is positioned to play a major role in supporting the fast-growing offshore wind industry for decades to come,” said GZA president and CEO Patrick Sheehan. “GZA is proud to have worked closely with QDC managing director Steven King and his team on helping solve some of the many complex challenges involved with this project that will deliver new jobs, economic growth, and clean energy for our region.”

From geotechnical analysis of offshore turbine sites and cable routes to shoreline engineering and port upgrades, GZA provides a wide range of engineering and consulting services to the offshore wind industry. The firm’s experience with U.S. offshore wind dates back to its support for the country’s first offshore wind development, Deepwater Wind’s 30-megawatt, five-turbine Block Island Wind Farm off the coast of Rhode Island, and 10 other projects since.

For QDC, GZA’s services include subsurface exploration to guide the implementation of planned improvements, design of pier upgrades, preparation of construction documents for pier rehabilitation and repairs, bid and construction-phase support for replacement of bulkheads and storm bollards, pile design guidance and dynamic testing, and a plan for successfully phasing construction to maintain port operations during construction.