U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a senior member of both the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and a member of the Armed Services Committee,  announced the U.S. Navy has awarded Reed and Reed of Woolwich, a firm-fixed-price contract in the amount of $13,232,500 for structural stabilization and repairs at Berth 1, 2A and 2B at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY) in Kittery.  

The contract calls for stabilization of an existing 1,100 feet of granite retaining wall and for removal of approximately 1,100 feet of abandoned railroad track.  With options, the contract could increase in value to more than $16 million.

Collins has long argued for increased investment in the nation's public shipyards, including PNSY.  

In the Fiscal Year 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, a provision authored by Maine and New Hampshire's Senators required the Navy to submit a plan to Congress on shipyard modernization. That plan would address the facilities maintenance backlogs at all the public shipyards, a backlog that now stands at $546 million for PNSY, according to the Navy's Fiscal Year 2012 Shipyard Business Plan.

"The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is an economic engine that drives the economy of southern Maine and New Hampshire," Collins said.  "I believe that the Navy must accelerate facility modernization projects at the yard and make the necessary investments that will help improve the safety and efficiency of the terrific workforce that keeps our Nation's nuclear submarines ready for sea.  

“I am pleased that with this contract award, the Navy continues to recognize the critical need for these investments at the shipyard.”