Navy issues $63 million contract for Portsmouth Dry Dock 2 construction project

The Navy has issued New Hampshire-based Methuen Construction a $63 million contract for construction on the Dry Dock 2 complex at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as part of the service's ongoing Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program.

The project adds infrastructure to the shipyard’s existing Dry Dock 2, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command spokesman Bill Couch told Inside Defense in a statement.

“This project adds enclosures and other infrastructure to the existing Dry Dock 2 complex at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and will enhance the shipyard's ability to handle multiple Los Angeles-class and Virginia-class submarines,” Couch said.

Work on the project is expected to be completed by October 2023, according to the contract announcement. The contract has six unexercised options which can increase the contract’s cumulative value to $93.8 million.

The enclosure will “consist of two towers, storage areas, railcar access, multiple high and low bay work areas, three bridge cranes, movable roofs, access control and all associated heating, ventilation and air conditioning, mechanical, electrical, alarm, controls and communication systems,” according to the contract announcement.

The contract follows a $1.7 billion contract the Navy issued in August to 381 Constructors to build a multimission dry dock at the shipyard. That contract calls for a partitioned addition to the shipyard’s Dry Dock #1 which will consist of two bays, labeled Dry Dock #1 North and Dry Dock #1 West.

Both contracts are part of the Navy’s 20-year, $21 billion Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program, the service’s effort to improve the nation’s four public shipyards. The Navy is planning to spend over $4 billion to improve its shipyards over the next five years, Adm. William Lescher, the vice chief of naval operations, said in June.