Dry dock company plans three-phase project on Vallejo's Mare Island

Dry dock company plans three-phase project on Vallejo's Mare Island
By Jessica A. York
Posted: 11/18/2009

What can Vallejoans expect next in the still unfolding project that could reopen two of Mare Island's long-dormant dry docks?

California Dry Dock Solutions, the company that won approval of its project plan early this month, expects to implement it in three phases.

For their business to locate on Mare Island, the company first will need:

* A lease from property owner and developer Lennar Mare Island

* Federal contracts to dismantle up to four retired and obsolete naval ships initially, now moored off Benicia's shores in Suisun Bay

* A permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission to dredge soil in front of the dry docks in the Mare Island Strait.

The proposed project first requires inspections and the permit. Second, the company would dredge about 102,000 cubic yards off offshore soil to allow ship passage. The third phase would include equipment repairs and readiness checks of the dry docks, removal of unneeded buildings, parking lot construction, and city permits to prepare existing buildings.

The developer expects that entire process to take seven months.

Even with the needed federal contracts and final permit approval,any needed dredging cannot occur before June, California Dry Dock Solutions officials said.

Breaking down the proposed four initial ships could take up to two years, company Business Operations director Jay Anast.