Bristol Harbor Flood Control Project Breaks Ground

by Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

Federal and local officials have broken ground on a critical $4 million flood-control project in the southern end of Bristol Harbor. The Tanyard Brook project will replace the existing pipe and stone-lined channel from Garfield Street to the outfall at Walker’s Cove with a new concrete box culvert.

The project is financed through $2.9 million of federal money from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and a $1.1 million community development block grant. Northern Construction Service of Weymouth, Mass. will perform the construction work, with BETA Engineering overseeing the project. Construction is estimated to take 15 months.

“This is a smart investment in keeping the entire town safe and encouraging economic growth and development. We saw again in 2010 there was a real need to address this situation,” U.S. Senator Jack Reed commented in a statement. To date, the federal government has committed approximately $200 million to help Rhode Island’s recovery from historic floods in March 2010.

In other news, Mansfield-based medical technology company Covidien Ltd. announced the opening of the China Technology Center, a $45 million research and development project in Shanghai. The 100,000-square-foot facility includes 17 laboratories and is expected to employ more than 300 people.

China Technology Center will focus on the design of tailored devices and on the discovery of breakthrough platforms in medical technology. Coviden’s other operations in China include 10 commercial offices, a manufacturing center and training facilities for healthcare professionals.

“This fusion of expertise among healthcare professionals, students, scientists and engineers will be further reinforced by the cutting-edge capabilities of our new R&D facility, bridging clinical knowledge, market understanding and technical innovation,” said Dong Wu, Coviden’s vice president for China research and development.

Photo credits: www.bristolri.us