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While political outcry erupted, workers pushed steadily forward to build a new facility for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Newport. The city last week issued a certificate of occupancy for the last portion of the dock, and remaining work is expected to wrap up this week 鈥� a few days ahead of schedule.

Soon after NOAA announced in August 2009 that it intended to move its Marine Operations Center-Pacific from Seattle to Newport, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and others objected. They argued that moving operations to Newport would negatively impact the agency as it pursued its scientific mission. The Port of Bellingham, Wash., another bidder for the center 鈥� and approximately 175 jobs 鈥� filed a complaint that the planned site in Newport was in a floodplain.

鈥淲e had our marching orders that we needed to have most of the project built by May 1, so we just kept digging,鈥� said Brad Barcroft, on-site project manager for Andersen Construction. 鈥淲e were aware that there had been some heartburn in Washington, and Senator Cantwell had concerns, but after a whole review process they determined everything had been done properly.鈥�

Andersen and West Coast Contractors worked on the project as a joint venture, and only a few miscellaneous items remain.

On land, the facility includes a 25,000-square-foot warehouse and a 17,000-square-foot office building. The office building will hold extensive information technology equipment, which required installation of dry chemical fire suppression systems.

Half of the warehouse will be used for storage, and the other half will house machine, wood and electronic shops. The latter includes a full mock-up of the instruments on board NOAA ships so that technicians based in Newport can communicate easily with those at sea.

The buildings received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver certification, in part because of the team’s decision to crush and reuse the concrete from the warehouse fish hatchery that previously occupied the project site.

After a competitive bidding process, West Coast Contractors won the bid for the dock work, which accounted for about $15 million of the $29.4 construction budget.

鈥淚 think it was our knowledge of the project and pre-planning that set us apart,鈥� said Tim Smith, construction manager for the company. 鈥淲e devised a system for the piling that included very progressive thinking.鈥�

The 1,300-foot-long wharf is connected to land by two, 260-foot-long approach piers. The whole structure is supported by bents comprised of three, 106-foot piles. Each bent is capable of resisting 900,000 pounds.

West Coast Contractors came up with a template for driving the piling one bent at a time, which reduced the need to move the work barge. The wharf provides berths for four NOAA ships and two visiting vessels, as well as moorage for small boats.

The team was challenged to finish in-water work ahead of the Feb. 15 deadline. In addition, the port’s permit obligated workers to harvest and replant eelgrass that would have died when the approach piers cut off their light source. More than 50,000 yards of material had to be moved.

The eelgrass is part of the critical habitat for coho salmon, one of the species that NOAA monitors. In fact, NOAA announced this month that Oregon coast coho salmon should remain listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Transplanting the eelgrass is part of a 10-year process to ensure the facility does not harm the coho habitat.

Operations at the facility will support 65 administrative staffers, and more jobs are expected to be created once the center is running at full capacity.

鈥淭hey’ll be using local vendors when the ships are in and when they’re out,鈥� said Don Mann, general manager of the Port of Newport for almost 16 years. 鈥淭he spin-off has already started with five full-time security positions. It will take a while to establish, but the whole region will see some continual growth in job opportunities and vendor activity.鈥�

The formal turnover of the facility and the 20-year lease will begin Friday. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and an official dedication will take place Aug. 20 and 21.