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Bigger, better aircraft carrier pier completed
BREMERTON, Feb 14, 2012 (Kitsap Sun - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Navy officials and U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks celebrated the completion of a $124.5 million aircraft carrier pier Monday at Naval Base Kitsap.
Dicks, D-Belfair, called it the most significant Puget Sound Naval Shipyard improvement in decades. The longer and stronger pier will not only give the shipyard the ability to more efficiently work on Nimitz-class aircraft carriers like the USS John C. Stennis and USS Ronald Reagan but the new Gerald Ford-class flattops. It also provides homeport berthing space for another carrier at Naval Base Kitsap.
Crews from the joint venture Nova Group/Tutor-Saliba of Napa, Calif., demolished the 66-year-old pier, replacing it with one that's more than twice as wide (120 feet) and 125 feet longer (1,320 feet). It contains 6 million pounds of reinforced steel, 13,000 yards of concrete, more than 5 miles of piping and 14 miles of electrical cabling.
The pier supports aircraft carriers while they're undergoing maintenance in adjacent Dry Dock 6. There should be less waste, transportation and waiting because workers will be closer to the work site.
"I can't wait until we start using it more," said Capt. Mark Whitney, shipyard commanding officer. "We are poised for the future. We are very close to being able to have the Ford class here, the next-generation aircraft carrier."
During construction, USS Nimitz completed an overhaul Nov. 1 in Dry Dock 6 and the pier was ready for the arrival of USS Ronald Reagan on Jan. 10.
"It's really nice to see (Ronald Reagan) pulled up to the pier, everything plugged in and turned on and everything working very, very well," said Scott Victor, president of Nova Group. He said the project came in on time and on budget. Construction began in May 2008.
___ (c)2012 the Kitsap Sun (Bremerton, Wash.) Visit the Kitsap Sun (Bremerton,
Wash.) at www.kitsapsun.com Distributed by MCT Information Services
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