Progress continues on the construction of the South Yard Assembly Building, a 200,000 square-foot building that will eventually be home to 1,400 skilled shipbuilders who will deliver the Columbia class.
The building is now almost 50% structurally complete and on track to receive the first Columbia module from Quonset Point in December 2023. Today, each of 6 super modules of the lead ship of the Columbia class – the largest and most highly outfitted modules we’ve ever constructed – are under construction at Quonset Point.
This point in construction consists of steel and concrete work, including columns, bracing, and roof trusses of the East and West Mezzanine sections and assembly bay.
Moorings for the new Ocean Transport Barge HOLLAND are also complete, which supports the barge being delivered in early November. The receiving station, which is an electrical sub-station, is also in place and work is currently being done to run power to it. This week, EB received a $475 million contract modification to an existing contract supporting the Columbia program. The Columbia program is the company’s number one priority and the backbone of our nation’s strategic deterrent.
EB President Kevin Graney recently said, “Columbia is arguably the greatest engineering achievement of the most advanced military in the world. The Columbia class will carry 70% of the US nuclear arsenal. Over the last 14 years – since the inception of the program – we have leveraged more than a century of submarine design and construction know-how into this priority program.”
In the coming weeks, the siding installation of the SYAB is scheduled to begin. Construction of a utility building, housing a land-based steam boiler, pure water facility, electrical and air utilities, will commence toward the end of October.
