KCI New Terminal Team Marks Topping Out Milestone with Unique Virtual Events for the Community and Project Workforce

KANSAS CITY, MO - Clark Construction and its joint venture partners joined forces with developer Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate and the Kansas City Aviation Department (KCAD) in early December to turn a key milestone on the KCI New Terminal project into an opportunity to engage and support the local community.

To commemorate the end of structural steel operations on the project, the team launched “Sign the Beam”, a campaign that provided a new twist on a time-honored construction tradition known as “topping out”. Through the initiative, community members were invited to virtually “sign” one of the last steel beams to be placed in the terminal, leaving their mark on an important piece of regional infrastructure in exchange for a donation to United Way of Greater Kansas City. The two-week-long campaign garnered more than 600 unique donations – ranging from $25 to $25,000 – and raised more than $90,000 to support COVID-19 assistance programs in the Kansas City metro region.

“We are incredibly grateful to the [KCI project] team and to Kansas Citians who provided contributions toward COVID-19 relief in our community,” said Brent Stewart, President & CEO of United Way of Greater Kansas City. “The pandemic has significantly impacted so many of our friends and neighbors.”

Donor names, and those honored through a donation, were placed on a 30-foot-long beam prior to its installation in the New Terminal in late December.

In addition to the public beam signing, Clark honored the collective accomplishments of thousands of craftworkers, engineers, designers, and consultants involved in bringing to life the New Terminal during a virtual “topping out” celebration in late January. The project-based event featured a socially-distanced barbecue lunch and live-streamed program punctuated with surprise appearances from Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, and key business and civic leaders from the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Southwest Airlines, Cerner, Kansas City Area Development Council, Heavy Constructors Association of Kansas City, and Greater Kansas City Building Trades. Local sports figures Salvador “Salvy” Perez of the Kansas City Royals, Sporting Kansas City’s Graham Zusi, Kansas City Chiefs Radio Network analyst Danan Hughes, and the newest addition to Kansas City’s sports scene, Lo’eau Labunta of the National Women’s Soccer League, also paid tribute to craftworkers through special video messages.

"On behalf of Kansas City, I want to offer my sincere gratitude to all of the KCI craftworkers for the excellent job they are doing to deliver a world-class airport to our community,” said Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. “Their pride in their work and steadfast dedication have been evident as we’ve watched them build this state-of-the-art airport terminal."

With just over two years left until completion, the KCI New Terminal is nearing peak construction. Currently, 800 craftworkers – representing a diverse mix of trade partners and vendors – are operating on-site, collectively putting in place more than $2 million of work daily. The project is scheduled to open to travelers in March 2023.