By JOSEPH B. NADEAU

WOONSOCKET — Brian Chattman hit a welcome milestone this week on construction of the north building of the city’s $80 million middle school project.

With a wave of his arm, Chattman sent the last steel beam needed to complete the building’s steel frame on a slow crane ride to the top of the structure.
Up there, Local 37 ironworkers Cameron Gonsalves of Fall River and Chris Martel of Woonsocket were ready to grab it and pull it down into place.
Jason Ferschke of Woonsocket operated the 125-ton crane for Greystone Construction, completing the move with only the sound of the ironworker’s ratchets signaling that the steel had been set exactly where it needed to go.
The lifting job began after city and school officials, middle school staff members and even a few future students signed their names to the beam as it sat on the ground at the new dead end of Villa Nova Street. Greystone was completing steel work as a subcontractor for Gilbane Building Co., the city’s construction manager on the project.
“I think it’s cool because when I look back and see that the school is done, I’ll see my name on the building,” Vanessa Wehbe said after signing her Jane Hancock along with sixth grade classmate Jaidan Pereira.
“I thought it was really cool to put my name on it,” Jaidan said before the steel beam took flight.
The students’ principal, Patrick McGee, also signed his name to the beam before commenting on this milestone in the new school’s construction.
“It’s just exciting to see it going up, to see the school going from one phase to the next one and next one,” McGee said.
Schools Superintendent Robert J. Gerardi Jr., who has been busy this week working on the district’s budget problems, saw Thursday’s capping ceremony as good news for the school system.
“I’m excited for the community and most importantly, I’m excited for the education community,” he said. “This project is going to give our students so many opportunities for years to come.” It is to the city’s credit, he added, that local residents recognized the need for the schools and approved the bonding required to build them.
When completed next winter, the project will provide the city with two 880-student middle schools designed by Ai3 architects of Providence.The twin structures will replace the aging 1,600-student school now in use at Park Place.
On Thursday, progress on construction of the north building included masonry walls going up at several locations around the structure.
The south building suffered a construction delay when rainy weather caused a crane boom to collapse on the partially completed framework. Gilbane revised its construction schedule to keep work going on other phases of the project as steel damaged in the accident was removed and replaced.
That change appears to have brought the project to within a week of its original timetable, according to Joel D. Mathews, city director of planning and development. Continued favorable weather could help Gilbane in catching up completely, he added.
That possibility was not missed by Scott Thomas, project manager for Greystone, who said the job was going well despite the crane mishap.
“We’ve brought in extra crew members and have been making up as much time as possible,” he said. The safe completion of the north steel erection means the ironworkers assigned there can now go on to other projects, he said.
“It means it’s the beginning of the end for us on this job,” Thomas said. The Greystone crews will lay out the steel sheeting for the building floors, then turn the job over to concrete workers who will pour floors as masonry workers continue putting up walls.
As the final beam was being bolted into place by Gonsalves and Martel three stories up on the north building, Chattman also saw the moment as a sign his role in the school project would soon be coming to an end.
“We’ll put in a few more pieces and then we’ll move onto the next building,” he said.