KITTERY, Maine – A bright red, 110-foot-tall steel structure with the ability to lift 4,000 tons arrived at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Monday.

According to a news release from the shipyard, the lifting device was transported on a barge from Cianbro Corporation’s Modular Manufacturing Facility in Brewer, Maine. It was highly visible on its journey down the Penobscot River to the Atlantic Ocean and then along the coast of Maine to the mouth of the Piscataqua River.

The 111-foot-wide structure is currently temporarily located at Henderson’s Point on the west side of Seavey Island, where the shipyard is located.

The lifting device was brought to the shipyard to support the Multi-Mission Dry Dock 1, an ongoing project that has been running for seven years.

The shipyard’s World War II-era dry dock 1 is being modernized

The work is being carried out by 381 Constructors in a joint venture between The Industrial Company (a subsidiary of Kiewit Corporation), Maine-based Cianbro Corporation and The Middlesex Corporation.

Previous story: Senator Shaheen says billions will help fund ‘most important part’ of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

The device will be assembled and installed in the shipyard’s Dry Dock 1. The process is expected to be completed in early May, according to a shipyard press release. Once operational, it will lift 27 4,000-ton concrete monoliths being built by Cianbro Corporation at its Brewer facility.

The project will involve modernising the historic dry dock, which was originally built during World War II.

Shipyard expands capacity for submarine overhaul work

The capacity expansion will enable the shipyard to accommodate three Los Angeles or Virginia-class attack submarines for repair and maintenance.

Shiyard’s economic impact: $1.4 billion: Local cities and towns in NH and Maine with the most employees and payroll listed here

The work is part of the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program of the Navy’s four state-owned shipyards. It integrates facilities, utilities and investments in industrial assets to meet the maintenance requirements of the nuclear fleet, according to a shipyard press release.

SIOP’s decades-long effort has currently completed over $6 billion in construction contracts and $577 million in equipment procurement, representing a significant investment in the Navy’s infrastructure.

This article originally appeared in the Portsmouth Herald: 110-foot-long machine at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to lift over 4,000 tons