FORT KNOX, Ky. — A large crane hoisted the long white steel I-beam above the heads of a small crowd who came to watch it slowly swing toward the framed building.
Within 10 minutes, two workers guided the beam to its final resting place and bolted it into place. The significance was signified by the many signatures of Van Voorhis Elementary School students, teachers, construction workers and Fort Knox leaders inked across the top and frontside of the beam.
The beam also featured a small evergreen tree perched on top.
“We build buildings by milestones and putting the last beam on a structure is an important milestone,” said George McMinn, vice president of operations at Messer Construction’s Louisville region. Messer is the lead contractor for the project. “Having the tree on the beam signifies the building reaching for the sky without any injuries, which we feel provides good luck for the future inhabitants.
“We still have a long way to go, but it’s been a safe project, so we’re celebrating the fact that we’ve made it this far.”
The day prior, some of those future inhabitants of the school walked to the building site, situated directly behind the current schoolhouse, and met with contractors after signing their names to the beam.
The new Van Voorhis has been framed with 840 tons of structural steel and will cost roughly $59 million when completed. Cole Gehlhausen, project engineer at the Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District, said it will give teachers and students about 104,000 square feet of space to stretch their legs and expand their education.
Unlike Kingsolver, the exterior of Van Voorhis has a more saw-toothed design due to layout constraints.
McMinn said construction of the new building, while done safely, hasn’t been without its share of difficulties along the way.
“In the construction industry, and perhaps others, we’re experiencing supply chain issues,” said McMinn. “You never really know where they can pop up from.”
In one instance, contractors scheduled for roofing materials to be delivered on time and, because of shortage issues, had to get with the building’s design team to come up with creative alternative solutions. Another challenge has been with getting cement delivered.
Colonel Eric Crispino, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District, attributed the success of meeting each challenge safely and on time to the cohesive teamwork among everyone involved.
“Being able to adapt on the fly to those changes signifies the mark of a good team,” he said.
Crispino said the contractors and his engineers have kept the project on deadline so far as a result of their efforts. The target date to open the facility at the moment is targeted for 2025, with a possible opening date in 2024.
“This beam represents that we’ve finished all of the structural steel placement,” said Crispino. “Now we can move onto some of the exterior work drying the facility in and getting it weather tight before we move onto the interior finishes.
“This is a good sign; when you get to this point it means you’ve gotten out of the ground and have the structure up.”
McMinn said he has been thoroughly pleased with how the construction is going.
“The partnership has gone really well,” said McMinn. “We’ve had to overcome some supply issues, which we couldn’t have done without the help of the Corps of Engineers, DODEA and the designers. It’s a testament to the overall project team working together to get where we are.”
----------------------------------
Editor's Note: For a short video on the beam being swung into position at its final spot, check out this link on YouTube.
Social Sharing