ROME — Work is ongoing to shore up the banks of the Mohawk River at Pinti Field in Rome five years after flooding from Tropical Storm Fred, according to city officials.
“We are reinforcing the Mohawk River, the bank of the river, with hard-armored riprap, and we’re going to be doing some work to the parking lot as well, and the playground area, making some improvements,” explained Pat Surace, an engineer II with the city’s Department of Public Works.
Riprap is “basically like giant stone boulders” used to protect river banks and shorelines, he explained.
Pinti Field, fencing and the playground equipment were all heavily damaged during flooding in August 2021, caused by Tropical Storm Fred. Local elected federal officials lobbied the White House to declare a major disaster declaration for Upstate New York following the storm, and the city of Rome applied for funding to make repairs at Pinti.
In early 2024, it was announced that FEMA would pay $1,007,341.99 for the repairs.
“It took several years to actually get the grant money, now we’re performing the work,” Surace stated.
Aside from the work along the river bank, Surace said they will be working on the parking lot and will make some minor repairs to the playground equipment. He said the mulch on the playground was also replaced.
The work is expected to be completed this fall, Surace stated.
