Jacksonville, Florida - Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast awarded two task orders, totaling over $16 million, September 28, to URS Group, Inc. of Morrisville, North Carolina, to repair Navy and Marine Corps facilities that were damaged in Florida and Georgia when Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida, September 9 and 10 respectively.

An $8.4 million task order will be used for stabilization and repairs at Naval Air Station (NAS) Key West, Florida, and another $8 million task order for stabilization and repairs at NAS Jacksonville, Florida; Naval Station Mayport, Florida; Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia; and Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island, Florida, also caused by Hurricane Irma.

NAVFAC Southeast dispatched a 17-person Contingency Engineering Response Team (CERT) to NAS Key West, September 12 and 13, from NAS Jacksonville to assess the damage. The CERT spent over a week evaluating facilities on base for damage caused as Hurricane Irma slammed the base September 10 as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 130 miles per hour.

Local damage assessment teams were able to provide support locally in Jacksonville and Kings Bay areas to assess the facilities on the bases here in Northeast Florida.

"NAVFAC CERTs deploy to assess hurricane or other storm damage to military installations and help installations reconstitute and recover base operations," said NAVFAC Southeast Contingency Engineer Don Maconi. "During this process the team provides documentation so that cost estimates can be provided for each facility on base that may have damage from the storm, they provide public works support, contract administration support, etc. Once the estimates are pushed forward, approved and funded, repairs can begin."

Both contracts call for removal of drywall, carpet, ceiling tiles and other items damaged by water intrusion caused by roof damage during Hurricane Irma. The contractor will also provide dehumidifiers and other techniques to dry out the areas and perform repairs to prevent additional leaks and damages.

"As work now begins to repair damage from Hurricane Irma we have a team beginning to assess damage to naval facilities in Puerto Rico caused by Hurricane Maria," stated Maconi.

Work is expected to be completed by September 2018.