"Let's roll": contractors involved in the Pentagon's Phoenix Project used teamwork to restore damage from the 9/11 attact - repair & reconstruction

Masonry Construction, Sept, 2002 by Susan C. McCraven

When the terrorists planned their attacks of 9/11, they choose key American icons of strength. While they were on target in regard to the buildings' importance, the terrorists miscalculated the attacks' effect. Instead of displaying a national feeling that would cast the United States as weak and vulnerable, the end result of the deplorable act was a response that showed Americans' resolve and strength.

There is no better display of this resolve than the successful results of Project Phoenix. With the goal of having staff move back in quickly and function in their jobs, the masonry community has played a key role in repairing the Pentagon's E-ring.

Work on the exterior began almost immediately after the attack. On June 11--the nine-month anniversary of the attack--contractors hoisted the last of the nearly 4000 pieces of limestone placed onto the facade. In the ceremony attended by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, workers also placed a commemorative capsule behind the final piece of burned stone in remembrance of the victims. While much of the repair effort then focused inward toward the mechanical and refurbishing of the structure, the finish date would not have been possible if the contractors had not responded so completely and willingly. (Construction crews hope to finish the outermost ring of offices by September 11, 2002 and the remainder by spring of 2003.)

Project Phoenix wasn't the first time in the history of the Pentagon that contractors streamlined their efforts to prepare the structure for its important duties. In an ironic twist of history, construction for the 29-acre structure began on 9/11/41. What had been planned as a lengthy construction project turned fast track with the start of World War II in the following December. By April 29, 1942, the first Pentagon occupants moved in, with construction completed by Jan. 15, 1943. One of the world's largest structures was finished in just 16 months.

Not many masonry contractors will ever have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in a generation-defining event similar to this one. Like those workers who helped initially construct the Pentagon, Americans of all generations wanted to help send a message of dedication and unity in rebuilding the structure. About 600 workers were onsite daily, with a maximum of 1000.

While the project's name was symbolic of the mythological symbol of rebirth and immortality, the motto "Let's Roll" had a much more contemporary meaning. It echoes the last words of Todd Beamer, one of the heroes of Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania.

The motto also described how Kenneth E. Hays, vice president of Physical Security for Masonry Arts (MAI), Bessemer, Ala., and Michael Bratti, president of R. Bratti Associates, Alexandria, Va., felt about their work on the Pentagon.

Both contractors played key roles in the $500 million project. Masonry Arts provided, furnished, and installed the impact-blast-resistant glass for the windows, and Bratti performed the limestone block facade replacement. Bratti's stone contracting company restored 3000 cubic feet of damaged limestone (15% of the total) onsite.

The pair looks you straight in the eye when asked about the extensive publicity that they will receive for working on the Phoenix Project. Bratti replied for both men: "We consider it an honor and a duty to do this work, and we would complete it to the best of our ability whether we were paid or not, regardless of the publicity. All of the people who work for us feel the same way."

Historical stonework

The hijacked airliner punched a 100-foot-wide hole through three of the five rings in the Pentagon's west facade, which is five stories high. The outside wall consisted of 10 inches of concrete behind 8 inches of brick. Those layers were clad in limestone panels nearly 6 inches thick. Masonry at the point of impact was gone, but much of the limestone cladding on either side of the strike point was intact. The limestone panels were 5 feet wide, nearly 2 feet high, about 6 inches thick, and weighed about 600 pounds.

While repairing the damage was of great importance, the task was made more difficult by attempting to do it by the rules. The Pentagon was designated a National Historic landmark in 1992. Therefore, contractors and design engineers were asked to pay close attention to important details relating to this designation.

"Recreating the limestone facade accurately was an engineering feat in itself," emphasized Hays. Within days following the attack, MAI began field dimensioning of the facade still intact and salvaging the stone to be removed to accommodate the massive demolition of the damaged structure behind. "We used old-fashioned measuring techniques in conjunction with laser-indicated and GPS satellite pinpointing to refine and check accuracy," said Hays.

Shop drawings for the stone were completed and dimensioned accurately and rapidly. Placement of concrete for the new structure could not begin until the stone drawings showing where the matched back of stone lay were completed. The new concrete had to be poured right up to where the theoretical location of the replaced limestone would be. Otherwise, the stone--once installed--would not properly align with the original facade, and the anchorage system would not work.