US Navy to Invest $15 Billion in Expanding Bremerton Shipyard for Ford-Class Carriers

Because Ford-class supercarriers now must travel to Virginia for dry-dock work, the Navy is seeking to upgrade the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, the only West Coast yard capable of servicing Nimitz-class carriers. A $15 billion multi-mission dry dock project, described as one of the largest infrastructure upgrades in Navy history, will add a new caisson, drainage, dewatering systems, roadways, rail, and utility tunnels.

The work will be split into four segments—marine work, drydock construction, infrastructure upgrades, and caisson fabrication—each valued between $200 million and $4.5 billion. Contracts are slated for award in 2027, with marine work starting mid-2028 and drydock construction by 2030, shortly after the future USS John F. Kennedy is home-ported at Naval Base Kitsap. The initiative will also support maintenance of other surface ships and nuclear submarines, and the Government Accountability Office estimates the broader Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program will exceed $200 billion over five decades. Local businesses are expected to benefit from multi-billion-dollar contract tranches throughout the region.