Much-needed improvements are coming soon to Rock Island’s Sunset Marina. City council members on Monday, May 13, approved $3.6 million in funding for dredging, replacement of a primary dock and electrical upgrades to three others.

Funding includes $1,422,284 from a FEMA grant, $800,000 from ARPA funds and $1.4 million from a city inter-fund loan.

“Sunset Marina in Rock Island, Illinois is the largest natural marina in the upper Mississippi,” said Mayor Mike Thoms. “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 Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill 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,” 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.”