Having grown up a complete landlubber, I never learned much early in life about seafaring. Here in the Ocean State, though, I am learning just how many goods come to the United States by ship. I recently had the opportunity to tour the Quonset business area and learn more about Rhode Island’s maritime industry. The area happens to include Rhode Island’s main publicly operated port, the Port of Davisville. The tour reminded me that “infrastructure,” far from being a faraway concept, is a local and necessary resource for our state and every state.
The Quonset business park used to be two separate military installations: the Quonset Point Naval Air Station and Camp Endicott. The business park still has much of the old military infrastructure, including a small airport with an Air National Guard wing and the old port.
The port is a fascinating place; if you ever get the chance to go, you should. Rail lines come right up to the water so goods can go straight from the ship to the train. Thousands of cars are imported there each year.
Quonest is a special development zone, managed by the Quonset Development Corporation to actively attract businesses to Rhode Island. The park has ready-to-go “pads,” sites ready for construction and pre-zoned for speedy approval. It brings businesses to Rhode Island which require the park’s special infrastructure support including airport, rail, road and port services. The roads are super-reinforced for heavy truck traffic.
So, now that it is warming up, maybe you should take a trip out to Block Island or Martha’s Vineyard. If you do, take the Fast Ferry from Quonset. Skip the Cape Cod traffic. Look around at all the transportation machinery. That is what we mean when we talk about infrastructure. Sometimes I feel like we use the word “infrastructure” too much in policy debate without describing what it means. Quonset lets you know what that is: rail, port, air, heavy roads and everything.
This week, a pipe exploded in Harlem, killing several people. That pipe was 127 years old. It was, as Charles Pierce noted in Esquire, “laid during the first Cleveland administration.” Going to Quonset reminds us that “infrastructure” is not some faraway thing. It is a major part of the day-to-day life and economy of our state and every state.
Check out the quick summary of all things Quonset here.