The battleship USS Wisconsin's short but majestic voyage to its new berth constructed by Tidewater Skanska Inc. began at dawn on De-cember 7, 2000 on the 59th anniver-sary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that ushered in World War II. The Wisconsin's "final voyage," as the Navy called it, ended at the berth-ing facility at Nauticus, the home of the National Maritime Center. Tidewater Skanska, Inc. was awarded the $4 million contract by the City of Norfolk to prepare the National Maritime Center for the scheduled arrival of the Wisconsin. The contract called for the installa-tion of underwater bulkheads, con-crete mooring dolphins and the dredging of the basin adjacent to Nauticus. Tidewater was required to remove more than 185,000 cubic yards of material from the basin and then transport the material to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' near-by site. In spite of the appearance of a per-manent-looking berthing, the Wis-consin remains a reserve ship. Should the Navy require her fire-power, the grand old lady could be quickly pressed into service. The U.S. Navy, via the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, is responsible for the operation of the Wisconsin now that she is berthed adjacent to Nauticus.
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