Pittsburgh’s Skilled Trades Powering Terminal Construction

The talents and skills of Pittsburgh’s skilled trades will be on display for the world to see when the new Pittsburgh International Airport opens next year.

Over 1,000 skilled trades members are working at the Terminal Modernization Program site, including some still learning their trades – like apprentices Israel Brown and Kristen Gogal.

“I’m everywhere at the same time. I generally make it to every nook and cranny of the airport,” said Kristen Gogal, second-year operating engineer apprentice.

“I’m learning something new every day and if there’s something I already do know how to do, there’s always a better way to do it,” said Israel Brown, second-year carpentry apprentice. “So I’m learning new ways and new techniques. I’m just bettering myself as a carpenter out here.”

Working on such a major project is providing Gogal and Brown, and many other apprentices, with valuable hands-on-experience to start their careers. Their apprenticeships last four years, so they still have thousands of hours of work experience to log. Most of the hours are spent working on a site, but both are also spending a lot of time in the classroom.

“You’re going to have at a minimum to journey out of this program about 5,200 working hours as well as about 20 weeks of training,” said Alex Fulton, Training Coordinator, Carpenters’ Training Center.

“When we train, we train for well-roundedness. You might be setting or pouring concrete in the morning, (and) in the afternoon you might be backfilling a ditch or digging a ditch, so you have to be well versed and well-rounded,” said Dennis Manown, Western Pennsylvania Operating Engineers Joint Apprenticeship & Training Program.

The high-quality training, skills and expertise Pittsburgh’s skilled trades bring to the site have caught the eye of a man who has been on 16 airport construction projects.

“Some of the welds on this job are the most complex welds I have seen, period, across any job I have ever done anywhere,” said Rob Bramblett, project executive, PJ Dick/Hunt.

The new terminal project also features the detailed work of millwrights installing the baggage system and sheet metal workers installing duct work.

“Having the tradesmen on this site specifically doing that scope of work, the level of quality that we’ve gotten on this job is really second to none,” Bramblett said.

Building is in Pittsburgh’s DNA. The craftsmanship of the skilled trades is on display throughout the region, from the bridges to the stadiums.

“You can see when they do their work, their commitment to safety, their commitment to quality really stands through,” said Bramblett. “They really set the bar high for all the trades that have to come up after them.”

For Brown and Gogal, working on PIT’s new terminal may be part of their training – but it is also a legacy project.

“I think about it probably five times a week. Just being able to say, ‘Hey, guess what? I set all the bollards on that bridge – that was me. I did it!’” said Gogal.

“I played a part in that, you see that (airport) right there, that’s me,” said Brown. “You ride past the airport, you see that, that’s me, so it’s a huge legacy and I’m honored.”