Fox Point Hurricane Barrier

Fox Point Hurricane Barrier

The Fox Point Hurricane Barrier is a convert|3000|ft|m|sing=on long tidal flood barrier spanning the Providence River in Providence, Rhode Island, located convert|750|ft|m|sing=off upstream from Fox Point. It was constructed between 1960 and 1966 to protect the low-lying downtown area of the city from from damaging storm surge and floods associated with hurricanes and other major storm events.

The Fox Point Hurricane Barrier consists of five main parts: river gates, rock and earthen dikes along each shore, vehicular gates along each shore where roads pass through the dikes, canal gates at the west end of the barrier associated with the nearby electric power station, and a pumping station to control the flow of water. [ [http://www.providenceri.com/publicworks/hurricane/description1.html Fox Point Hurricane Barrier] ]

Historical background

Since colonial times, the port of Providence, located at the head of Narragansett Bay has been a vital part of the city's economy. Ocean-going ships regularly dock along the city's waterfront just south of downtown. During the 19th century, the city became a national leader in industrial output and trade. The downtown area is located in a shallow natural basin with an elevation of only convert|8|-|12|ft|m above mean sea level.

In September of 1938, the Great New England Hurricane slammed the coast of Southern New England, killing 250 people in the region and causing millions of dollars in damage. Downtown Providence, a bustling center of commerce was entirely submerged under water, causing about $120 million in damage in the city alone.

Again in 1954, the area was hit by Hurricane Carol, causing a storm surge as high as convert|8|ft|m in some areas, and resulting in over $41 million in damage. [ [http://www.providenceri.com/publicworks/hurricane/significance1.html Significance of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier] ]

Local, state and federal officials decided to take action to prevent future devastation. Construction of the barrier was authorized in 1958 under the Flood Control Act. [ [http://docs.rwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&context=cmpd_working_papers Josh Chalchinsky, 2006] ]

The $16 million dollar wall has never seen a Category 5 hurricane, but has successfully protected the city in every instance since its construction. [Cite web | title = Providence Hurricane Barriers Eyed - Boston News Story - WCVB Boston | accessdate = 2008-09-12 | url = http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/4945961/detail.html ]

Features

Constructed between 1960 and 1966 at a cost of $14 million, the barrier was the first of its type to be approved for construction in the United States. [ [http://providenceri.com/publicworks/fox_point.html Providence DPW website] ]

River gates

The main feature of the hurricane barrier is a group of three large movable gates which span the river, allowing boats to pass through during normal periods. Each of the three tainter gates is convert|40|ft|m wide and weighs 53 tons with a curved outer portion facing the tide. It takes about 30 minutes to lower each gate. [ [http://www.providenceri.com/publicworks/hurricane/description2.html Description of River Gates] ] The relatively narrow gates prohibit large ships from passing into the inner downtown harbor as they did in the 19th century. However, modern ocean-going vessels now dock at the Port of Providence, located south of the barrier. The inner harbor is now generally occupied by only small pleasure craft during the summer months.

Dikes

The majority of the hurricane barrier's length consists of a convert|25|ft|m|sing=on high rock and earthen dike along the low-lying areas of the waterfront within the Fox Point and Jewelry District neighborhoods of Providence. The original dike located along the eastern shore has been removed and replaced with vertical concrete walls as part of the construction of the new embankment for the Interstate 195 relocation.

Vehicular gates

Three sets of huge steel vehicular gates are located under the newly constructed portion of Interstate 195, east of the Providence River Bridge, at South Water, South Main and at Benefit Street. On the west shore, vehicular gates are located at Allens Avenue as well as on the property of the Manchester Street Power Plant. The gates are normally in the "open" position to allow traffic to pass through, but are closed to provide a continuous barrier during emergency events.

Canal gates

On the west side of the river, there are also two large canal gates, which control water used to cool the nearby Manchester Street Power Station, which is operated by Dominion Resources. [ [http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20060716_barrier.16a04bc.html Providence Journal article, July 16, 2006] ]

Pumping station

The barrier also includes a pumping station, housed within a concrete and brick structure located near the western shore of the river. The pumping station contains five 4500 H.P. pumps with instantaneous starting power, and are designed to convey water from the Providence River over the barrier when the gates are closed. (Otherwise, the continuously flowing river water would have no place to go).

Each pump is about convert|54.7|ft|m|sing=on high and convert|20|ft|m|sing=on in diameter, and can pump 3.1 million gallons per minute. [ [http://providenceri.com/publicworks/fox_point.html Providence DPW website] ]

Gauges inside the pumping station measure the water level inside and outside the barrier, and control the pumps, in order to maintain the water levels one either side as closely as possible.

Recent history

In 1985, the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier was utilized, sparing downtown Providence from being inundated in two feet of water from storm surge brought by Hurricane Gloria, keeping the city dry. In 1991, the Barrier spared the city from Hurricane Bob, which would have covered downtown in four feet of water. The savings has been estimated to at several hundred million dollars and the project operates as a cost-benefit ratio of 2.21 to 1. [Cite web | title = Fox Point Hurricane Barrier: Significance Page Six | accessdate = 2008-09-12 | url = http://www.providenceri.com/publicworks/hurricane/significance6.html ] [Cite web | title = THE EAST COAST STORM; Hurricane Sideswipes East Coast, Leaving Damage and Two Deaths - New York Times | accessdate = 2008-09-12 | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7DD1F3FF933A1575BC0A967958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all ]

The barrier is also used to keep the river level higher during low tides, for the benefit of WaterFire events.

A $3 million overhaul of the barrier's five massive pumps was completed in 2006. [ [http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20060716_barrier.16a04bc.html Providence Journal article, July 16, 2006] ]

References

External Links

* [http://www.providenceri.com/publicworks/hurricane/description1.html Fox Point Hurricane Barrier on providenceri.com]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Hurricane Katrina — Infobox Hurricane Name=Hurricane Katrina Type=hurricane Year=2005 Basin=Atl Image location=Hurricane Katrina August 28 2005 NASA.jpg Formed=August 23, 2005 Dissipated=August 30, 2005 1 min winds=150 Pressure=902 Da Inflated=1 Damagespost=… …   Wikipedia

  • Hurricane Fox (1952) — Infobox Hurricane Name=Hurricane Fox (1952) Type=hurricane Year=1952 Basin=Atl Formed=October 20, 1952 Dissipated=October 28, 1952 1 min winds=130 Pressure=934 Da Inflated=0 Fatalities=41 Areas=Cuba, southeast Florida, the Bahamas Hurricane… …   Wikipedia

  • Effects of Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi — Hurricane Katrina s winds and storm surge reached the Mississippi coastline on the afternoon of August 28, 2005, Gary Tuchman, Transcript of Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees (2006 08 29) 19:00 ET, CNN , CNN.com web:… …   Wikipedia

  • Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans — Hurricane Katrina 2005 Atlantic hu …   Wikipedia

  • Jewelry District, Providence, Rhode Island — The Jewelry District is a neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island located just south of Downtown between Interstate 195 and Henderson Street. Interstate 95 lies at the western edge of the neighborhood, which includes Davol Square and the… …   Wikipedia

  • Providence, Rhode Island — City of Providence   City   …   Wikipedia

  • Civil engineering and infrastructure repair in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina — This article covers the levee system and infrastructure repairs in New Orleans, Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina …   Wikipedia

  • Hurrikan Irene (2011) — Hurrikan Irene Kategorie 3 Hurrikan (SSHS) Hurrikan Irene am 24. August als ein Hurrikan der Kategorie 3 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • List of unused highways in the United States — An unused highway may reference a highway or highway ramp that was partially or fully constructed but was unused [ US R and NY TF1 Practice for the Real Thing. City of New York 20 June 2005. 15 Jan. 2007 [http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/news/05… …   Wikipedia

  • Water Resources Development Act of 2000 — The Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (WRDA 2000), USPL|106|541, was enacted by Congress of the United States on December 11, 2000. [ [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi bin/toGPObss/http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=106 cong …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”