The donors who paved the way to a $6.5 million lab expansion in Butler-Carlton Civil Engineering Hall gathered in October to pour the cornerstone on the Clayco Advanced Construction and Materials Laboratory.

The lab, which marks the final phase of a $10.5 million initiative to advance S&T’s leadership in infrastructure engineering, was supported with funding from the University of Missouri System, industry partners and alumni.

Real estate and design-build firm Clayco Inc. completed fundraising for the project with a naming gift of $2 million. The company employs approximately 35 S&T alumni, including chief operating officer and shareholder Steve Sieckhaus, CE’87, MS EMgt’94, and executive vice president and shareholder Tom Sieckhaus, CE’88.

St. Louis-based ARCO Construction Co. also played an instrumental role. In addition to a $300,000 gift from the company’s founders and a number of employees who are S&T alumni, ARCO championed the project among St. Louis-area construction companies. ARCO was founded by Dick Arnoldy, CE’69, MS EMgt’73, retired chairman, and Jeff Cook, MS EMgt’94, president and chief executive officer.

A bequest from James A. Heidman, CE’65, MS CE’66, was also instrumental to funding the lab.

“Infrastructure is what sustains our quality of life, supports our economy and secures our nation,” says Joel Burken, Curators’ Distinguished Professor and chair of civil, architectural and environmental engineering. “Thanks to our donors’ generous support, S&T is rising to the challenge of building a stronger, smarter, safer and more sustainable future.”