One of the final beams was placed on top of the future Cyber and Engineering Academic Center (CEAC) during a ceremony June 22 at the U.S. Military Academy. Traditionally, a beam topping ceremony is the celebration of the last beam placed on the building and marks a major milestone in the construction process of that building.
For CEAC, the beam used in the ceremony was not the last beam placed, however, the project leaders wanted to celebrate reaching this milestone in the planning, design and now construction of this facility for West Point.
Typically, the building foundation and steel structure are the most difficult and most dangerous aspects of the job. A beam topping celebrates this feat being accomplished, and accomplished safely, and gives the whole team a moment of pause to take pride in what has been built and what is to come.
Those in attendance at the ceremony were the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New York District, commander Col. Matthew Luzzatto; members of the USACE team who managed the design and construction of the project; Dobco, Inc., who was the prime contractor; Kenvil United Corp, the steel erection subcontractor; Jacobs/EwingCole, JV, the architecture/engineering designer of record; and the West Point key stakeholders, Col. Greg Boylan (USMA G5R), Col. Richard Gash (USMA Dean’s Office), Dr. Led Klosky (USMA Dean’s Office) and Aaron Close (West Point’s Directorate of Public Works).
The CEAC project is earmarked to be completed by 2025.