PORTSMOUTH, Va. – Norfolk Naval Shipyard has broken ground on a major project to renovate the historic Dry Dock 4 at the shipyard.
The $200 million renovation is expected to take about three years.
It’s part of the Navy’s $21 billion Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program, designed to completely refurbish Norfolk Naval Shipyard and the Navy’s three other public shipyards by modernizing equipment, enhancing workflow and upgrading dry docks and facilities.
The Dry Dock 4 renovation will allow the Navy to do critical maintenance work on Ohio, Virginia and Columbia-class submarines.
First opened in April 1919, Dry Dock 4 was the first of three dry docks built at NNSY during its World War I expansion. Around 1,012 feet long, 144-feet wide and 40-feet deep, it was one of the largest concrete structures in the world at the time of its opening.
During its renovation, two-and-a-half feet of concrete will be replaced from the dry dock’s floor, as well as two feet from the sidewalls.
