U.S. Coast Guard Spends its First One Big Beautiful Bill Act Funds

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Facilities Design and Construction Center completed a contract modification with The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company Aug. 25 to remove up to 100 submerged concrete piles under the old Pier November at Base Charleston in North Charleston, South Carolina.  

The modification, with a potential value of approximately $14.8 million, includes work that is necessary to complete construction of new, modernized piers to provide support and logistics for up to five major cutters homeported at the base.

The contract was supported by funding in the recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act that included nearly $5 billion to address the Coast Guard’s most pressing shore infrastructure needs. It is the U.S. Coast Guard's first expenditure under the act.

Construction is expected to be substantially completed in 2026. 

“Thanks to the leadership and support of the President, the Secretary of Homeland Security and Congress, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act provides more than $24 billion to invest in the Coast Guard fleet and our inventory of shore facilities and infrastructure,” said Rear Adm. Chad L. Jacoby, deputy commandant for systems.

The Coast Guard’s Facilities Design and Construction Center also awarded a contract Aug. 27 to The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company for the first phase of work that will ultimately result in homeporting future polar security cutters (PSC) at Base Seattle in Seattle, Washington.

The initial contract, with a potential value of approximately $137 million, is for phase 1A activities of the Base Seattle modernization and homeporting program and includes dredging of Slip 36 and construction of two modernized major cutter berths fully capable of hosting PSCs.

Dredging is required to accommodate future PSC berthing and operations at the facility. The Coast Guard will remove and dispose of contaminated sediment as required under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and in accordance with an Environmental Protection Agency order. This project represents the largest CERCLA action and removal of hazardous substances in the history of the Coast Guard.  

The phase 1A contract also includes widening of the slip between berths 36B and 37B, upgrading berths 37A and 37B with modernized utilities capable of hosting two new PSCs, demolishing an existing building and stabilizing the waterfront at Berth 36B and recapitalizing Station Seattle’s small boat docks and boathouse.  

The Coast Guard plans to award future contracts for phases 1B and 1C to further modernize facilities and deliver four major cutter berths to support the service’s growing fleet at Base Seattle.

The work at Base Seattle is critical to supporting future operations to establish U.S. maritime dominance, conduct Coast Guard missions in the high latitudes and advance national security interests, including in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act makes a historic investment in the Coast Guard’s polar icebreaking fleet by providing $4.3 billion to continue construction of the PSC fleet.