The Battleship North Carolina could soon get a major facelift as a cofferdam and walkway are planned to be built around the vessel’s gray steel body. The sheet-piling structure will encase the whole ship, Executive Director Terry Bragg said, and most of the wall won’t be visible above water. The dam, to be constructed 100 feet away from the ship in a rectangular shape, will give crews space to address longtime concerns about the brittle state of parts of the ship’s hull, according to Bragg. Officials plan to extend the memorial walkway into a nature trail that goes into the nearby wooded area next to the battleship. The proposed plans would better promote ecotourism there and preserves the history of the ship, according to officials. A Memorial Walkway will run the loop of the cofferdam, it will give visitors a new view of the battleship. If all permitting goes smoothly, officials hope construction will be under way at the end of the year.
“Our overall goal is to make Battleship Park more welcoming from the Wilmington side, both in terms of view and causing one to want to go view it,” said Wilmington architect Chip Hemingway. Even with all of the changes the project will bring, Bragg said there’s one transformation that’s most important. “I’m most excited about getting ahead of maintenance responsibilities of the ship,” Bragg said. “This truly will protect the ship for the future.”