To borrow from Jerry Lee Lewis, there will be a whole lotta shakin' going on with two of the museums and memorials that are anchored by the USS Arizona.

A 10 a.m. Wednesday groundbreaking is open to the public for a new $54 million USS Arizona Memorial visitor center.

The two-year project is expected to bring some relief to the busy memorial, where more than 1.3 million people show up annually at a facility that was designed for 750,000.

A new campuslike design will spread new buildings and shaded walkways over a much larger area of the Arizona Memorial's 17.4 acres of shoreline than the current facility.

Only the theaters from the existing facility, built in 1980, will remain.

Approximately 187 piles need to be driven into the ground to act as a foundation for the buildings and prevent the sinkage that plagued the existing facility.

As if that's not enough activity for a while, the battleship Missouri plans to drydock the floating museum and memorial in the Pearl Harbor shipyard for 60 to 90 days sometime after Sept. 2, the 64th anniversary of Japan's surrender on the decks of the Mighty Mo in World War II.

The historic battleship faces millions of dollars in repair costs for the drydocking and to repaint its corroding hull and portions of its superstructure.

The groundbreaking and Hawaiian blessing for the new Pearl Harbor Memorial Museum and Arizona visitor center will be held on the existing facility's back lawn.

The keynote address will be given by U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, and the guest speaker will be Mal Middlesworth, president of the National Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. The ceremony will also include a military band, morning colors and a traditional blessing and ground turning.

Construction is expected to begin within the next few months, with completion scheduled for December 2010.

Eileen Martinez, a spokeswoman with the National Park Service at the Arizona Memorial, said the first step will be to build a service road for the upcoming construction.

After that, a construction fence will go up.

A new central gateway ticketing office for all the museums in the area will be built, along with new restrooms, bookstore and other facilities.

A lot of that construction will occur in the area next to the visitor center that currently is parking. Open space farther away on the 'ewa side of the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park will become the main parking area.

"We've given this quite a bit of thought and we want to do what's best for the visitor and facilitate a safe, understandable, pleasant experience to get out to the Arizona," Martinez said.

The plan is to distribute tickets somewhere near the Bowfin, rather than at the visitor center as is now the case.

"So visitors coming out of their cars from that parking lot don't have to walk all the way over to the USS Arizona ticket desk to find out perhaps that they need to put their bags in their cars, or to find out they have a two-hour wait."

Wednesday's ceremony is free of charge. Seats are first come, first served. Personal cameras may be used, but no camera bags, purses or other items that offer concealment are allowed due to security issues.

IN BRIEF

6 MARINES FACE CONSPIRACY CHARGES

Six Marines stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kane'ohe Bay appeared in federal court late last week to face charges of conspiracy to smuggle goods out of the U.S. stemming from a scheme to steal night-vision devices and sell the gear on the open market, Marine officials said.

The Marines were released from the Honolulu Federal Detention Facility to their units Friday, the Kane'ohe Bay base said.

The Marines said those accused are: