 Contract design was completed in February 1986 and steel fabrication work for "Rainier" began on August 16, 1986 at National Steel and Shipbuilding (NASSCO) in San Diego, California.The official keel laying was conducted on May 31, 1990.NASSCO built "Rainier" utilizing an efficient modular construction technique - separate sections of the ship were built with piping sections, ventilation ducting and shipboard hardware, as well as major machinery items such as main propulsion equipment, generators and electrical panels installed.