Weeks Marine
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Weeks Marine is a marine construction and dredging contractor based in Cranford, NJ. It was founded by Francis Weeks and his son Richard B. Weeks in 1919 as the Weeks
Stevedoring A dockworker (also called a longshoreman, stevedore, docker, wharfman, lumper or wharfie) is a waterfront manual laborer who loads and unloads ships. As a result of the intermodal shipping container revolution, the required number of dockworke ...
Company.


Company

Weeks has three key divisions—Construction, Dredging and Marine Services. Weeks also owns three major subsidiaries, Healy Tibbitts Builders, Inc. McNally International, Inc, and North American Aggregates, Inc. Weeks manages a network of regional offices in Louisiana, Texas, Hawaii, Ontario and Nova Scotia. The company currently has 5 yards, 13 tugboats, 18 dredges, 50 cranes and 294 barges. On January 3, 2023, Weeks Marine was acquired by
Kiewit Corporation Kiewit Corporation is an American construction company based in Omaha, Nebraska founded in 1884. In 2021, it was ranked 243rd on the Fortune 500. Privately held, it is one of the largest construction and engineering organizations in North America ...
.


History

Established in 1919 by Francis H. and Richard B. Weeks, the company started with two cranes in the Port of New York, handling bunker coal and dry ballast. By the beginning of World War II, they had purchased their seventh crane and were loading military equipment bound for Europe to support the Allied Forces. The workload of the war overseas had taken its toll on the Weeks fleet, so after WWII, the wooden hulls of the cranes were replaced with steel hulls, creating the Weeks #6 and #7. In the 1950s, the Weeks Stevedoring Company ventured into a number of marine projects outside the field of stevedoring. The company performed salvage and dredging work, installed navigational aids for the
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
, and even constructed a breakwater to protect the air shaft leading from the
Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, commonly referred to as the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel, Battery Tunnel or Battery Park Tunnel, is a toll road, tolled tunnel in New York City that connects Red Hook, Brooklyn, Red Hook in Brooklyn with The Battery (Ma ...
to
Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk ...
. They also became the prime contractor assigned to remove abandoned wooden vessels for the Army Corps of Engineers, work still contracted today. In 1958, Weeks purchased their first crane to be used exclusively outside the field of stevedoring, the Weeks #500. In 1960, Weeks brought their first vessels to the fleet as two by deck barges were built by Richmond Steel for the company. In 1962, they added their first dump scow, the Weeks #250, a by vessel. Over the next ten years, the Weeks barge fleet had grown proportionally, creating a vital infrastructural core of the Weeks operation today. During the 1970s, the first dredge, the ''Venture'', a by hydraulic dredge, and the first large tug, the ''William J. McPhillips'', a 2,400 horsepower single screw tug, were purchased in an effort to broaden the company even further. In the 1980s and 90s, the Weeks organization grew by acquiring other marine companies. During that time, Weeks substantial acquisitions were M.P. Howlett, a New York based stevedoring company, in 1983, American Dredging Company, one of the most famous dredging companies in history, in 1993, and T.L. James, another dredging company based in
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
, in 1998. Between 2001-2003, and 2008-2010, Weeks Marine was the prime consultant and contractor for the reefing of retired MTA
New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
cars from classes R26, R28, R29, R33, and R36 from the IRT's A Division, and classes R32,
R38 The ''R.38'' class (also known as the ''A'' class) of rigid airships was designed for Britain's Royal Navy during the final months of the First World War, intended for long-range patrol duties over the North Sea. Four similar airships were o ...
, R40 and R42 from the BMT/IND's B Division, which were retired, stripped and loaded onto barges and taken to designated reef sites in the States of
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
,
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
,
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, and
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. The cars were reefed into the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
, thus creating an artificial and diving reefs from same. ''
Weeks 533 ''Weeks 533'' is a capacity Clyde Iron Works model 52 barge-mounted crane which is the largest revolving crane vessel, floating crane on the East Coast of the United States. It was originally ordered for bridge construction and has since been us ...
'', a large rotating barge-crane has been used for several notable heavy lifts, including moving the
Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...
and ''Enterprise'' onto the
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum The ''Intrepid'' Museum (originally the ''Intrepid'' Sea, Air & Space Museum) is a military and maritime history museum in New York City, United States. It is located at Pier 86 at 46th Street (Manhattan), 46th Street, along the Hudson River, ...
and lifting the downed hull of
US Airways Flight 1549 US Airways Flight 1549 was a regularly scheduled US Airways flight from New York City's LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte and Seattle, in the United States. On January 15, 2009, the Airbus A320 serving the flight struck a flock of birds shortl ...
from the
Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
. On January 3, 2023, Weeks Marine was acquired by
Kiewit Corporation Kiewit Corporation is an American construction company based in Omaha, Nebraska founded in 1884. In 2021, it was ranked 243rd on the Fortune 500. Privately held, it is one of the largest construction and engineering organizations in North America ...
. It was announced that although now owned by Kiewit, Weeks will still operate under its own name.


References

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External links


Company web-site
Cranford, New Jersey Companies based in Union County, New Jersey Construction and civil engineering companies of the United States 1919 establishments in New Jersey Dredging companies