The estimated $16.8 million cost increase for the now-$51.5 million STURGIS barge decommissioning is largely due to the anticipated 12-month extension in completing the project, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday.
The STURGIS, a onetime World War II Liberty Ship that was fitted with a nuclear reactor that powered military and civilian operations in the Panama Canal during the 1960s, contains low-level radioactive waste. The ship arrived at the Port of Galveston, Texas, in April 2015, after being towed about 1,700 miles from the James River Reserve Fleet in Virginia.
The Corps suspended decommissioning work in February, after crews identified structural integrity issues between the crane being used in the work and the surrounding dock. USACE Baltimore Project Manager Brenda Barber said Thursday that the project prime, Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., assumed the crane was compatible with the surrounding dock, based on historical knowledge from shipyard manager Malin International and the Port of Galveston. However, when the Corps identified what Barber described as an “operational issue,” it requested load-bearing capacity documentation for the dock, which the contractor was not able to provide. Following dock repair work, the contractor completed a technical report to ensure the crane and dock are compatible.
“So there was no documentation, which is why we asked for the documentation once we saw the (issue),” Barber said by telephone. “We said safety is a priority for us, and we won’t allow work to continue in an unsafe manner, so we took the appropriate steps and shut the project operation down from a crane perspective.”
The crane is now fully functional, and work resumed May 9. Improvements to the dock, which the contractor paid for, included subsurface soil improvement, repair work, and construction of a crane matting system comprised of wood timber, steel plating, and mud mats.
Barber said the Corps has already shouldered $2 million to $3 million in expenses associated with delays for the dock issue. That amount includes utilities, security, and staffing for the project. Despite the delay, crews had to maintain radiological monitoring at the site. Barber said has been no evidence of radioactive material or increased exposure outside the reactor containment area.
The majority of the remaining expenses included in the $16.8 million cost increase are due to the extended project timeline, she said, and the complexity of the work involved. The project runs at about $1.2 million to $1.5 million per month, which doesn’t account for waste transportation or disposal costs.
Also included in the cost spike are about $300,000 to $400,000 for towing costs in the Florida Keys when the barge was transported early on, as well as $200,000 to $300,000 removal of lead-based paint on the exterior surface of the STURGIS, which was not anticipated.
