Administrators, staff, board members and other supporters of Riverside Walter Reed Hospital gathered last Wednesday afternoon near what will be the new entrance of the hospital to celebrate a milestone.

Under slate grey skies and with a slight chill in the air, several dozen people took part in a “topping off” ceremony that marked a symbolic step in the progress of a massive renovation of the Gloucester hospital, as the topmost steel beam of the expanded facility was lifted into place.

Construction has been going on at the hospital for nearly a year now, ever since groundbreaking was held in February. The project includes a new 65,000 square foot Surgical and Inpatient Services building with capacity for four new state-of-the-art operating suites, two procedure rooms, preoperative and postoperative recovery areas, along with 36 private patient rooms.

The project will also expand the hospital’s Emergency Department from its current 6,300 square feet to more than 16,...