Clark Construction Group, LLC continues to make remarkable progress in the construction of the National Museum of the United States Army. The Museum’s concrete slabs and decking are almost complete, and the last structural steel beam was placed as part of the roof structure above the Museum Lobby entrance during a “Topping Out” celebration on 17 November. The radiant heating/cooling floor has been installed in the Exhibition Hall, the structural steel support beams have been fireproofed, and the work necessary to prepare the building for the exterior stainless steel metal panels has begun.
The twenty foot tall mock-up of the Museum’s building envelope was tested successfully against water penetration. The stainless steel metal panels and glass curtain wall will commence with the first panels to be hung in late December 2018.
As of December 2017, the construction is on schedule, and the building will be watertight by the spring of 2018. The Museum building’s estimated completion date is April 2019 and exhibits will continue to be installed through the end of 2019. The Museum is expected to open to the public in two years.
Shirley Contracting Company, LLC continues work to build the Museum’s infrastructure, roads, and utilities on the 84–acre site that will support the Museum. Liberty Drive has been paved with a base coat of asphalt up to the parking lots and to the Service Drive located at the back loading docks of the Museum. Work continues to widen the Fairfax County Parkway for turn lanes and the future traffic light at the entrance of the Museum. The utility services infrastructure is progressing to provide permanent utility services to the Museum.