Allen Van Driel, CEO
Probably the two most commonly heard questions about the construction for our replacement hospital, at least until very recently, have been “Are they way behind schedule because of all the rain?” and “Is that a pond out there / what is that big hole?” But within the last week or so, more commonly heard is “Wow, I guess they really are getting started.”
As everyone around here knows, it has, indeed, been a very wet spring. Generally, that’s good news for farmers trying to raise a crop (unless it gets too wet to allow planting). And overall, it’s good news for our project as well. Since dirt work for the project began the middle of March, there have been a total of six days when weather and wet ground prevented work on the site. We’ve measured about 10.3 inches of rain in that time period at the site, so only losing six days of productivity is actually pretty good. The Construction Superintendent told us last week that although we are a few days behind the short-term schedule they planned with the subcontractors, they do not anticipate an overall project delay. That means that the weather delays days they had built into the schedule have been adequate for the weather we’ve had. I want to take just a moment to thank Hutton Construction for the excellent job they’re doing so far with the planning, coordinating, and supervising the project. They’ve been good to work with from our perspective, and the Hospital Board members who have attended construction progress meetings have been very impressed with Hutton’s organization and adaptability to keep the project moving.
Because we know that the community is interested in progress of the project, we want to make information available as readily as possible. To that end, we have arranged with Hutton to have photos of the site made available to us to share with the public on a regular basis. If you follow us on our Facebook page, you may have already seen some photos posted there last week, I’m including some of the photos here as well to show the progress. These photos are from a drone flyover conducted by Doug Armknecht last week.
In this first photo, which was shot from the north end of the project near Highway 36, the footings for part of the inpatient care wing of the hospital are visible to the left side. On the right side of the photo the pad and steel framework of the portion of the building that will house Maintenance and Mechanical rooms, Purchasing and Storeroom, and Environmental Services are visible. To the south of the outline of the hospital building, the construction office and equipment staging trailers are visible. Also visible in the top right corner of the photo is the construction access road entering the site from East Kansas Street.
The second photo was shot from above Hubbard Stadium looking northeast. In the foreground are visible the edge of the athletic facilities. The construction office is in the lower right corner of the photo. In the upper center Jones Machinery is visible in the background. The footings that were quite visible in the first photo are not as visible in this view, but the concrete pad and steel structure are clearly visible to the lend end. In the upper left end of the photo is the “pond” referred to earlier. This is actually a “borrow pit”, where dirt has been excavated for purposes of filling and leveling the site where the actual construction is occurring. Before the project is finished, as grading and leveling of other parts of the site occur, this borrow pit will be filled in, and won’t be present when the project is complete.
We will continue to share photos of the site and the building as construction progresses. One important point I need to make before I conclude relates to public safety. One of the most important considerations throughout the construction project is the safety of workers and anyone visiting the site. here are currently about 45 workers on site each day, and a number of pieces of heavy equipment moving around the site. The ground is very rough, partly due to the rain, and partly due to the nature of construction sites. Hutton Construction asked us to remind the public that the entire area is a restricted access area at all times. Anyone on the site much have permission to be there, and must have protective clothing, including high visibility outerwear and hard hats. Although we know this is an exciting time for the community as construction progresses, PLEASE do not enter the site to get a closer look. To do so would be dangerous, regardless of the time of day. We thank the public for your cooperation. Stay tuned for regular updates from us to show progress.