Construction crews set the first piece of steel on March 17 for the new 787 Final Assembly building at Boeing South Carolina.
Why it matters: “The work we are doing today is setting our team and our site up for the future.” said Corey Knudtson, the BSC site expansion leader.
- This milestone signals a shift in work from heavy excavation to building the structural envelope of the new building, known as building number 88-48. When complete, the new Final Assembly building will enable the 787 program to scale up production capacity to meet strong market demand for the 787 Dreamliner family.
“This is historic progress. We set column A1 for the building on Tuesday and more will follow," said Dallas Grack, the construction leader for Boeing's Global Real Estate & Facilities organization.
- So far teams have moved more than 360,000 cubic yards of earth (nearly 23,000 truckloads), digging down as far as 95 feet in some areas and installing more than 220 deep foundational structures.
- Crews have poured over 9,300 cubic yards of concrete and now have the first of nearly 19,000 tons of structural steel standing.
The work requires coordination across many Boeing South Carolina teams and construction crews.
What’s next: In the coming weeks nearly 400-foot tall cranes will arrive on site to lift the main trusses. Each of the trusses weighs about 420 tons and spans roughly 450 feet.
"The finished building will span about 600,000 square feet and significantly change the look of the campus," said Knudtson.