Suddenly, there's a lot more room to work on the playing field at Ford Field, the future home of the Detroit Lions.

On Feb. 5, iron workers and operating engineers topped out the structure, lifting the final major roof support section into place, a 50-ton, 150-foot long bridging truss. Like the rest of the roof support elements, this section was assembled on the future playing field, and lifted into place 180 feet over ground level. The lift took place directly over what will be the 50-yard line, and culminates the placement of some 16,000 tons of iron on the project.

During 2001, the field was dominated by the iron truss sections, but the iron is nearly all in place now.

Si Stroia of Iron Workers Local 25 was coaxed out of retirement late last summer to act as superintendent and complete the project for the steel erector, SCI/SteelCon. "I'm glad I came back, for me, this really fulfilled my career," he said. "The workers can be proud; they did a helluva job." Stroia worked with Local 25 general foreman Mark Maracle and steward Robert "Jeep" Eldridge.

This wasn't the last section of steel to be placed at Ford Field - some much-smaller roof sections still needed to be erected, and there is still some significant work to be done on an atrium adjacent to the stadium. But this is a project that featured some of the heaviest truss lifts in U.S. history, and SCI/SteelCon and the iron workers wanted to top it off with a major section.

"This is a great day for us," said Robert Bloomingdale, vice president and general manager of SCI/SteelCon. "The people who are building Ford Field can be proud that they are building a one-of-a-kind, landmark building that will be here for years to come."

This project included two of the heaviest lifts in the history of the State of Michigan, and one of the heaviest ever in the U.S. The first took place on Nov. 2, when a 450-foot-long, 2,764-ton roof truss section was lifted into place using a strand-jack system.

Now the rest of the project will race to completion in August, to open in time for the final two games of the Detroit Lions preseason schedule. The project manager at Ford Field is Hunt-Jenkins.

"There will not be a finer football facility in the whole NFL than Ford Field. I guarantee it," said Lions President Matt Millen. "I've been in them all of them. They don't compare."

The old Hudson's warehouse will anchor the south side of the $375 million, 65,000-seat stadium, and contain most of the facility's 130 luxury suites. An eight-story glass wall at the corner of an end zone will bring in natural light and remind visitors what city they're in.

"We want a uniquely Detroit facility," said Tom Lewand, Lions' vice president for stadium development, "and with the amount of glass and sunlight coming in you can see glimpses of other buildings and know you're in Detroit. You look at this and its some of the neatest and coolest space in the city." 

IT TOOK A PAIR of cranes to lift the final 50-ton, 150-foot-long truss into place over Ford Field, at about the 50-yard line. The traditional fir tree and flags also went along for the ride on the beam as it was topped out.

THE CREW OF iron workers and operating engineers at Ford Field who were present for the topping out.