As the skeleton of the new Jennie Sealy Hospital begins to rise from its foundation, construction progress now can be seen with the naked eye. Contractors are installing form work and reinforcing steel on the second floor deck in preparation to pour concrete, and already, 8,100 yards of concrete have been poured. When the 13-story hospital is complete by 2016, 50,000 yards of concrete will have been used.
All 1,092 piles and pile caps, which provide foundational support, are complete, and all underground utilities have been laid. About 50 percent of the Level 2 concrete deck is complete. The fourth – and last – tower crane came on site last month. The cranes, the tallest of which is 260 feet high, are used to hoist equipment and materials.
"We're making great progress,'' said Mike Shriner, Vice President for
Business Operations and Facilities. "It's exciting to see some tangible signs of what will be a beautiful, state-of-the-art health care facility.''
Meanwhile, the first floor slab of the Clinical Services Wing, an adjoining seven-floor support building, is about 30 percent complete, with 4,520 yards of the total 34,000 yard planned poured. Construction of the new concourse that will connect John Sealy Hospital with six other UTMB buildings is well under way, with wall layout and ductwork installation ongoing in UTMB Health Clinics. A temporary hospital lobby is scheduled to open in March, and Pastoral Care offices and the Gift Shop will be temporarily relocated from February to April. The concourse project is expected to be completed in June.