Restoring the USS Alabama – A Bond Project with a Past

USS AlabamaWhen the World War II battleship USS Alabama went into retirement, it was with an eye to a long future. But to keep the old “Heroine of the Pacific” healthy enough for the public to enjoy, some restoration was needed.

Facing the Challenges

Refurbishing a historic ship requires some hyper-specialized contractors and subcontractors. Similar to other retrofit and restoration contracts, there were financing hurdles (think donation-based fundraising), and the USS Battleship Alabama Commission hoped to keep parts of the ship open as a museum during renovation.

A Five-Phase Project Over Three Years

The long-term project offers a fascinating study into the role of surety bonding and how the relationship between a surety and a contractor can smooth the process to completion over the course of potentially years. Read Rich Sghiatti’s account of this historical project in Construction Executive’s Sept. 6 edition at http://bit.ly/3EEmJv6.

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