SUBASE and Connecticut Leadership Celebrate State and Navy Infrastructure Improvements

GROTON, Conn. (NNS) -- Naval Submarine Base New London (SUBASE) hosted the governor and lieutenant governor of Connecticut for a tour and two ribbon-cuttings April 12, highlighting the continuing investment by the state and Navy in infrastructure improvements at the base.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman joined SUBASE Commanding Officer Capt. Marc W. Denno in cutting the ribbon on a state-funded culinary training center in the base's galley before cutting the ribbon for the base's new Pier 31, a Navy-funded $36 million construction project.

Malloy, who last visited the base in May 2011 to break ground for another state funded project that is expanding a Naval Submarine School facility for the installation of a new high-tech trainer, expressed his enthusiasm for the state's relationship with SUBASE and the infrastructure improvement opportunities.

A significant enhancement to the base's waterfront operations, the new, 500-foot-long and 65 feet wide pier is almost double the width of the pier it replaced. Prime contractor American Bridge Company of Pennsylvania oversaw the more than 120, thirty-six feet long, steel pipe piles that were driven into the riverbed and the nearly 10,000 yards of concrete that were poured to construct it. The new Pier 31 joins Pier 6 and Pier 17 as the base's fully functioning modern piers.

Denno pointed out that such Navy projects have been complemented by the State of Connecticut's efforts to enhance infrastructure at SUBASE since 2009. The state's initiative is a reminder of Connecticut's long relationship with the Navy dating back to April 11, 1868. That is when the original land for a base was conveyed to the Navy by a Deed of Gift from the Connecticut.

"Following in the tradition of that state gift to the Navy 144 years ago, Connecticut's investment in this base's infrastructure is unique among the nation's fifty states," said Denno.

Malloy stated his belief that the state and base "were building a relationship that can easily last another 144 years," and he repeated comments that Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus had made to him during Malloy's recent visit to the Pentagon.

"He holds [us] out as an example as he travels the country," said Malloy of the SECNAV. "Connecticut has shown the way of forging stronger relationships with its military bases and personnel."

The culinary training center at the base's galley, that Malloy and Wyman helped open, is the first completed Connecticut project on the base. Prime contractor P&S Construction of Massachusetts oversaw the creation of the center which includes a full-scale, fully functional replica of a galley found on Virginia-class submarines.

In September 2009, Connecticut made an initial state investment of $7.65 million in SUBASE that is supporting the construction a new Diver Support Facility at the base as well as modernizing a boiler at the base's power plant.

In December 2010, the state made a second investment of $3.22 million. That investment not only supported the culinary training center but also is supporting a $2.48 million addition to the base's Nimitz Hall that will allow the installation of a high-tech submarine bridge simulator training facility to train officers and crews in submarine navigation.

For Denno, the end result of every infrastructure improvement has to go beyond the steel and concrete.

"The true impact of every one of our efforts has to be measured by the difference it's making for the fleet, fighters, and ultimately families of SUBASE," said Denno. "This new pier now stands as a beacon of the service and support Naval Submarine Base New London can provide. I look forward to its shine for many years to come."

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