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Outdoors in RI: Summer’s end marks healthier beaches. Roger Wheeler, Burlingame projects
Beach News: This week we’ve had some “good” news as we find the state of our Rhode Island beaches better than usual at the end of a busy summer. Improvements are being made at both Roger Wheeler State Beach and the Burlingame State Campground to have an even better outdoors experience in 2025. And we share ecoRI’s article on the state of our beaches.
Roger Wheeler State Beach, Narragansett
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is now constructing a new boardwalk and bulkhead at Roger Wheeler State Beach in Narragansett – the project will feature a new concrete boardwalk to provide access from the parking area along the stretch of the beach. The boardwalk will feature new shade structures, sidewalks, foot washing stations, American Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant access ramps, and concrete benches.
DEM’s Division of Parks and Recreation is committed to accessibility and aims to make each state park and beach location as barrier-free as possible for the convenience of those with limited mobility. The new boardwalk and shade structures will enhance accessibility to the beach area while providing an increasingly important respite from the sun.
The steel bulkhead that was originally installed in the 1950s separating the beach and parking lot areas has shown signs of deterioration and will be replaced, an example of the challenges including sea level rise, flooding, and erosion that Rhode Island’s coastal communities are increasingly contending with due to the impacts of climate change. The existing steel sheet piles will be cut and removed, and a new concrete retaining wall will be installed spanning 1,200 feet across both sides of the pavilion, strengthening the resilience of the beach facility’s infrastructure to the growing impacts of climate change.
The project also includes the relocation of a short section of the Town of Narragansett’s existing water main, which travels through a portion of the site. The original roadway and waterline, also constructed in the 1950s, ran along the length of the existing bulkhead and pavilion. Since then, the roadway has been relocated and a parking lot has been added so that beachgoers would not need to cross the busy road to access the beach.
To construct the new boardwalk and bulkhead, the waterline will be relocated roughly 100 feet north of the new boardwalk in the beach parking lot. Roger Wheeler is a location where the federally protected Piping Plover shorebirds are known to nest, and DEM has been working closely with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure the protection of birds and nests throughout construction.
DEM received over $3.1M in funding for the project from a portion of banked Land and Water Conservation Fund formula funding that Rhode Island has accumulated over in recent years. Each year, RI receives a formula allotment of LWCF funding from the National Park Service and DEM applied to access to the funds for this project. The portions of the construction work not funded by LWCF are funded through the voter-approved 2021 Beach, Clean Water, and Green Economy Bond.
Ferreira Construction of Branchburg, New Jersey has been hired to perform the work, with a contract value of $10,619,308. The design work was developed by Lincoln, RI-based Pare Corporation and was funded through RI Capital funds.
“Roger Wheeler is a popular family-oriented beach due to its gentle surf and beach pavilion featuring a child-friendly environmental education area,” said DEM Director Terry Gray. “This project, which is partly funded through the 2021 Green Bond, will help modernize and protect this facility and is an example of the importance of the investments that the State of Rhode Island can make in public assets thanks to green bonds. We urge Rhode Island voters to approve Question 4 in November. Passage of the 2024 Green Bond will help fund projects that will increase Rhode Island’s resilience against climate change, protect clean water, revitalize brownfield sites, and conserve open space.”
DEM generally plans major construction and maintenance projects outside of the busy summer season to avoid potential disruptions to visitor experiences. Roger Wheeler will be fully open to the public during the 2025 beach season, but portions of the site will be closed to the public during the off-season periods to allow construction to take place.
This work will prevent the annual early opening of Roger Wheeler State Beach on weekends two weeks ahead of Memorial Day, when state beach season official starts. The project is expected to be completed before Memorial Day in late May 2025, but will continue during the off-season until Spring 2026 if necessary.
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Burlingame State Campground
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is announcing that a construction project to build six new shower and restroom facilities at Burlingame State Campground in Charlestown is planned to begin in October. The project’s first phase will remove the existing outdated facilities and replace them with new structures in the Mills Camp, Midpark North, and Fish Camp areas of the campground.
Beginning Tuesday, October 1, the campground will close the existing shower and restroom facilities in these areas in anticipation of the first phase of project starting. DEM expects this first phase of the project to be completed by spring 2026. The second phase of the project involving the Main, Midpark South, and Legiontown areas is expected to begin in October 2025 and be completed in April 2027.
While upgrading these facilities is exciting news for campers, the work may create noise during the day and will require campers to use shower and restroom facilities at different campground areas. Campers who prefer to relocate to a different site should let the Burlingame Permit Office know at check in or reach out by calling 401-409-1138 or emailing [email protected].
Campers with trips planned for the remainder of the 2024 season who do not wish to keep their reservation or are seeking to change the dates of their trip should contact Reserve America by logging in to the website or calling 1-877-742-2675. Campers should be aware of the refund policy before making cancellations and changes in stay. Reservations for the 2025 seasons will be available when the construction schedule for the upcoming season is finalized this winter.
DEM appreciates the understanding and patience of campers as we work to enhance the camping experience at our RI state campgrounds. For additional information on this project and other updates on RI state beaches, parks, and campgrounds, please visit RIparks.ri.gov
The new shower and restroom facilities will be modern, American Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant and gender-neutral facilities featuring new Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (OWTS), indoor/outdoor coin operated showers with hot water, energy efficient lighting, and durable, water-conserving plumbing fixtures.
We asked the RIDEM about privacy concerns with gender-neutral design – and received this response: “The shower and restroom facilities will have separate entrances typical of family or single user bathrooms, each featuring a complete set up (toilet, sink, shower, and baby changing station). The facilities and signage will all be ADA-compliant.
The design firm of Caputo & Wick, of East Providence, prepared the design plans and specifications to meet the modern needs of campers. Tower Construction Corp. of Cranston will be demolishing the existing facilities, removing the former wastewater treatment systems, and building the new structures and OWTS facilities. The $18M project, funded primarily through the voter-approved 2021 Beach, Clean Water, and Green Economy Bond and a $2M federal grant, is expected to be completed in April 2027.
First opened in 1934, Burlingame is one of Rhode Island’s first campgrounds. Located next to Watchaug Pond in Charlestown, Burlingame State Park and Campground covers 3,100 acres and is one of the biggest campgrounds in the eastern United States. This spacious campground features over 700 rustic campsites and 20 primitive cabins with conveniently located restrooms with shower facilities, a playground, arcade, freshwater beach, canoe rentals, and hiking trails. The campground is also a short drive to three state beaches.
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R.I. beach closures declined sharply this year – Ocean State Stories, ecoRI.org
This article is printed separately on our website – and was originally printed by ecori.org – and then by Ocean State Stories, prior to being printed by RINewsToday.com
Read the story, here: