Newport, RI Pare Corp., a leading multi-disciplinary engineering and planning firm, participated in the October 20th grand opening of the refurbished Newport Gateway Center.  The intermodal transit and tourist hub suffered structural and flood damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012. 

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) retained Pare to provide site and structural engineering services for this $6 million improvement project.  Federal, state and local funds were used to repair the facility and make it more resilient to future storms.  The project ensures that the Center is fully accessible and in compliance with Federal ADA regulations. It also includes pedestrian safety and bicycle-friendly features, improved signage, a taxi waiting area, and environmentally sustainable elements to collect stormwater onsite and improve drainage.

Pare’s scope of work included the design of steel support columns for new metal-roofed canopies, ADA-accessible crosswalks, a new traffic flow pattern, and a “green” stormwater system using five bioretention areas/rain gardens and permeable pavers.  

Pare worked closely with RIPTA, Northeast Collaborative Architects and WDA Design Group to create a resilient intermodal transit hub that honors the historic context of Colonial Newport while using advanced technology to ensure the safety of the thousands of people who utilize the facility each year.  

Established in 1970, Pare Corp. provides comprehensive planning, engineering, permitting and construction-phase services throughout the Eastern U.S. in such fields as site/civil, highways, bridges, waterfront/marine, dams, water/wastewater, geotechnical, structural, traffic, municipal, and environmental engineering.