PIT Readies Final Steel Beam of New Terminal

The final steel beam for Pittsburgh International Airport’s new terminal received some love from the community this week.

Hundreds of regional leaders and airport staff gathered to sign their names on what will be one of the uppermost steel beams placed on top of the new terminal as part of a traditional “topping out” ceremony.

“This project is a manifestation of our mission, and it is being created by and for the people living in western PA with an emphasis on the nature, technology and community of the region,” said Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which operates and manages Pittsburgh International Airport.

As part of its Terminal Modernization Program, PIT is building a new landside terminal, parking facility, and new airport roadway system. The project will deliver a faster, more efficient experience for passengers, while providing a more sustainable and adaptable airport.

It was fitting that the topping out took place during Construction Safety Week, a nationwide initiative to emphasize the health and safety of workers.

Project leaders have long praised the workers in hard hats who built this project from the ground to the top.

The ACAA entered a partnership with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration at the facility’s October 2021 groundbreaking that increases communication and cooperation between the two organizations and the contractors on the project.

The partnership is the first of its kind in the area and allows a healthy exchange of information to create and enforce best practices to keep all workers safe on the project.

A tall task

The ceremonial topping out dates back to Scandinavian mythology, according to the International Association of Bridge, Structural, and Ornamental Ironworkers.

When people were finished building wooden structures, a small tree or branch would be placed on top, and that custom eventually passed through Europe and on to America.

PIT’s new terminal won’t have a literal tree placed on top, but the structural steel tree columns are one of many pivot