State government officials went to Hammonasset Beach State Park this afternoon with shovels, not for the sand but for a major groundbreaking.
Two projects are under way at the beach in Madison using state government funds. The larger project – building new facilities at West Beach on higher ground, safe from flood tides – is costing $8 million.
The other project is the $3.5 million Meigs Point Nature Center, big enough to host 100,000 visitors per year. The Friends of Hammonasset organization has raised money for the exhibits, including a $100,000 touch tank.
"When you walk into the touch tank room, it's going to be like you're going underwater into Long Island Sound," said Russ Miller, known as Ranger Russ at the current Meigs Point Nature Center. "There's going to be a boat suspended over your head and fish tanks all around you."
Gov. Dannel Malloy called for continued reinvestment in the state parks, "these great properties that we have either set aside or our forebears have set aside."
