New $8.6 million teak deck for USS Alabama battleship: ‘Beloved symbol of patriotism’
The USS Alabama, which has long stood guard in the Mobile Bay, has a new deck.
“What a great honor for Alabama to continue to host and maintain this hero of the Second World War,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said during the ribbon cutting Thursday. “Alabamians are again united in pride as we unveil a major renovation to this beloved symbol of patriotism and America’s greatest generation.”
On Thursday, state officials, including Ivey, unveiled a new, 22,000 square-foot teak deck on the ship, the premier attraction of Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile. The deck replaces the original teak deck, which had fallen into disrepair over the 80 years of the ship’s existence.
The new deck was made with teak imported from Myanmar, from the same forests as the wood from the original deck, Chris Dunning, construction manager at Youngblood-Barrett Construction & Engineering, which installed the new deck, said. It took around six months to ship the new teak to the United States. The planks for the new deck are one inch thick, compared to the original planks, which were 2-2.5 inches thick.
https://www.stripes.com/history/2024-06-20/uss-alabama-battleship-teak-deck-14247760.html
(ships been looking great)