Improvements are coming soon to Rock Island’s Sunset Marina.
The Rock Island City Council recently approved $3.6 million in funding for dredging, replacement of a primary dock and electrical upgrades to Sunset Marina. Funding includes $1,422,284 from a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant, $800,000 from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and $1.4 million from a city inter-fund loan.
The proposed project includes replacing the 400 docks, electrical upgrades to the 100, 300 and 500 docks, related dredging, and decommissioning of deteriorated docks.
“Sunset Marina in Rock Island is the largest natural marina in the upper Mississippi,” Mayor Mike Thoms said in a news release. “The City of Rock Island along with the Corp Of Engineers are investing in this beautiful amenity in the city, along with helping the economy and job creation within the city.”
Separately, $1 million was awarded by the federal government to the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the entrance to the marina. The funding was jointly announced by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, (D-Illinois) as part of several Congressionally Directed Spending requests passed in March.
“Our state and our nation are stronger when we invest in our communities and families —and that’s what these bipartisan funding bills do,” Ms. Duckworth said. “I’m relieved we passed this bipartisan legislation to not only prevent a partial government shutdown that would have hurt working families across our nation, but also help secure critical support for projects all throughout our state, providing much-needed improvements to infrastructure, cleaning up our drinking water and helping keep our communities safe.”
