NAVAL BASE KITSAP, Wash. - On Dec 31, 2011, many of the Seabees of Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 303, Detachment Bangor, were enjoying their Christmas and New Year’s holiday stand down.
That all came to an abrupt when a 10-inch water main running down the middle of a major base thoroughfare ruptured. The rupture, on Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor’s Thresher Avenue, buckled and then yielded when thousands of pounds of pressure was released at once from what started as a small crack in the critical waterline.
The ensuing road blockage caused havoc for hundreds of on-base housing residents, interrupting the daily routine for numerous service members and their families and preventing them from accessing base service areas such as the gas station, exchange and commissary – all on New Year’s Eve.
Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest immediately reached out to the Seabees of Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 303, located onboard NBK Bangor, to provide emergency mitigation and restore the thoroughfare to service. The Seabees, just the beginning their long liberty weekend, were recalled to begin the task of repairing the damaged Thresher road section. Working nearly around the clock, the road was repaired and fully operational by Jan. 6.
Senior Chief Equipment Operator Edward McCarter, the detachment’s officer in charge said his Seabees removed nearly a quarter-mile of damaged asphalt and eroded subgrade.
“Our Seabees came through on a moment’s notice. Given the scope of work and lack of time to plan for construction, the crew was able to accomplish the tasking in a very short period of time and have lived up to our 'Can Do' motto,” said McCarter.
Contingency engineer response and horizontal construction are core mission areas of the CBMU, so their rapid response and quick work were really all in a day’s work for the naval construction force.
EO2(SCW) Gene Chappelle, a native of Kitsap, Wash., said, “It’s a great opportunity to serve the community and the base by doing what we do as Seabees”.
The response provided by the Seabees saved the Navy approximately $170,000 in contracted mobilization and associated labor costs, and having responded over the holidays reduced the road’s closure by several days, making the holidays that much more joyful for the sailors and Marines of NBK.
Lt. Arce Doble, assistant public works officer for NBK, was pleased to see the repairs done so quickly. “The Seabees of 303 were ready to roll at a moment’s notice and really delivered when we needed them.”
| Date Taken: | 01.11.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 01.12.2012 22:33 |
| Story ID: | 82352 |
| Location: | KITSAP, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 315 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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