The aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy won't be back in Philadelphia until early March.
It was initially thought that dredging around Pier 4 at the Navy Yard, where the huge vessel will be placed in long-term storage, would be finished by yesterday. But more work remains to be done, shipyard sources said.
The Navy said it would give advance notice of when the big aircraft carrier will be towed here from Norfolk, Va., and will suggest parks along the Delaware River where people can gather to watch it pass.
The Kennedy, completed in 1968, has been inactive since last March.
A $600 million overhaul and modernization of the Kennedy (CV67) in the mid-1990s was the last project of the old Philadelphia Naval Shipyard at the foot of South Broad Street. The Aker Philadelphia Shipyard occupies part of the former Navy facility and is now building three commercial ships a year.
The Kennedy, with its 4.6-acre flight deck, will be highly visible from low-flying airliners landing at Philadelphia International Airport.