Civil & Mechanical Engineering Celebrates SteelDay

The Department of Civil & Mechanical Engineering (CME) celebrated SteelDay, an annual celebration of the United States’ structural steel industry through the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and its members and partners where, sponsors around the nation organize and host educational and networking functions including tours of project sites, structural steel mills, and fabrication shops. Cadets and faculty from the Civil Engineering Division celebrated SteelDay by visiting two local steel structures. First, Dr. Brock Barry, LTC Jake Bruhl, and LTC Aaron Hill led cadets through a round-robin tour of the Bear Mountain Bridge to learn about the anchorage, history, and structural design of the bridge. Mr. Tom Scaglione, Chief of Staff for the New York State Bridge Authority, Ms. Danielle Mass, Deputy Chief of Staff for the New York State Bridge Authority, Mr. Bill Sullivan, the Bridge Manager, and Mr. Steve Accilli, the Bridge Foreman, provided inside knowledge of the bridge to include details of the steel parallel cable suspenders, steel trusses, and 350-feet steel towers. The cadets and faculty then traveled to the Tappan Zee Bridge where they enjoyed a briefing on the $4 billion 3.1-mile twin span cable-stayed bridge. Mr. Walter Reichert, Vice-President of Tappan Zee Constructors and Mr. Dan Marcy, Community Relations Specialist for New NY Bridge Project, described the organization, planning, and challenges that come with such a huge endeavor and answered cadets’ questions about this new piece of critical infrastructure.