Friday, March 27, 2020

WAYNESBORO, GA (WRDW/WAGT) -- Construction work at the Plant Vogtle nuclear energy facility has reached a milestone with placement of the Unit 4 containment vessel top head on Friday.

The achievement comes about a year after the Unit 3 containment vessel top was lifted into place at the facility near Waynesboro.

“Placement of the Unit 4 top head is a culmination of the hard work and dedication of the Vogtle 3 & 4 team as we continue on the path to operation,” Vogtle 3 & 4 Construction Executive Vice President Glen Chick said in a statement.

Earlier, workers successfully completed the placement of the 300-ton polar crane inside the Unit 4 containment vessel. Once the unit is in operation, the polar crane will be used during refueling outages to disassemble the reactor vessel and remove its integrated head package, which weighs about 475,000 pounds and contains more than three miles of specialty electrical cables.

The completion of the plant’s No. 3 and 4 reactors is the largest jobs-producing construction project in the state, with more than 9,000 workers on site and more than 800 permanent jobs available once the units begin operating, according to Georgia Power.

Significant progress continues to be made at the construction site, with the project now approximately 84% complete.

COVID-19 update

Meanwhile, managers offered an update on the coronavirus status of employees on the construction project.

No workers who have tested positive, officials said Thursday evening. Managers were awaiting test results for 19 workers, while 11 have tested negative.