Federal Grant will Help Expand Auto-Imports in Quonset

QUONSET, RI–Today, an area of gravel at Terminal 5 in the Port of Davisville is too dusty and gritty for the brand new cars imported there by the boatload.

Not for long.

An influx of new federal funding will help pay for a $1.25 million expansion at the port to pave and stripe the area, which will increase capacity for auto imports.

The state's federal delegation announced the $625,000 grant on Thursday. It will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Quonset Development Corporation.

Terminal 5 is 13-acre area. The additional paved space will give the burgeoning auto importing business more flexibility, especially on days when two ships are in port.

The QDC predicts 30 more jobs in the port because of the upgrades within five years.

The grant is from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, which already has granted money for port investments in Quonset, including one to install new marine hardware to improve Terminals 4 and 5. U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, along with Congressman Jim Langevin, secured $6 million in EDA funding in 2012 for upgrades and repairs after damage caused by Hurricane Irene. They also shepherded $3.88 million of EDA funds to improve access to a large swath of land in the Quonset Business Park with the construction of a connector road and bridge.

“I am proud to help deliver this federal grant to upgrade the Port of Davisville’s infrastructure so we can create jobs and increase the potential for future economic growth," Reed, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said. "This investment will help ensure Terminal 5 is ship shape, efficient, and ready to accommodate more vehicles and offshore wind business."

The Port of Davisville is a top ten port in North America for finished vehicle imports and is a gateway to markets throughout Southern New England. The Port is well positioned to increase capacity for small and medium commercial vessels, barges, offshore supply vessels and is a key location for the staging and transport of components for the offshore wind industry, according to the QDC.

Thanks to decades of investment, the Port of Davisville continues to break its auto import records. Last year, longshoremen and employees at North Atlantic Distribution offloaded nearly 270,000 vehicles at the port, an increase of 27 percent over the previous year. Of those imports, 227,000 cars arrived by ship, and another 42,150 vehicles arrived by rail and truck.

QDC projects that auto imports will continue to grow 4 percent annually through 2021