Philadelphia Navy Ship Yard Rehabilitation

As part of an effort to reduce federal expenditures, the Navy Ship Yard was closed in 1996. With the exception of certain Navy-retained properties including the Reserve Basin, the ownership of the Navy Yard was transferred to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development (PAID) in 2000 with the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) given the responsibility for planning and development. The master plan for the Navy Yard divides the property into a mixed use facility. A main focus of the planned development was to lure a modern commercial shipbuilder to the Navy Yard and retaining the vertical lift bridge at the mouth of the Reserve Basin would make the Navy Yard more attractive for this pursuit. However, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) deemed the bridge an unreasonable obstruction to navigation and-commissioned the alteration of the bridge to remove the feature(s) responsible for the obstruction.

Modjeski and Masters (M&M) highly experienced engineers completed a study and prepared a report which provided feasible and economical solutions for the alteration of the bridge. To improve navigation at the bridge, our problem-solvers developed a design to increase the vertical clearance from the existing 135 feet to 150 feet. Our report was well received and we continued with a $20 million structural, electrical and mechanical rehabilitation of the bridge. The $20 million rehabilitation project exceeded everyone's expectations. It helped secure Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, one of the most modern commercial shipbuilding and repair facilities in the United States, as the anchor for the industrial campus.