VJH Site Update

After a well-deserved break for the Christmas holidays, the construction crews working on the new Vernon Jubilee Hospital Patient Care Tower are back hard at work.

The cold weather in early December hampered crews’ abilities to pour the concrete for the roof of the tower. But since the weather warmed up, the roof pour has been completed and construction is still two to three months ahead of schedule. There will be a celebration in the coming weeks to mark the “topping off” of the building. We’ll keep you posted on the dates.

The first through fourth floors have been closed in and are now being heated, which is a big help to the workers doing the electrical and mechanical work inside. (It’s a lot easier to do work such as installing pipe when you don’t have to wear gloves to keep your hands warm!)

The glass and glazing is approximately 60 to 70 per cent installed on the first five floors as well. The sixth, seventh and eighth floors have been tarped, and work will start again on those floors in the spring.

Each of the first four floors is at an advanced stage of electrical and mechanical roughin.

In fact, the drywallers will begin work on the first floor (the new Emergency Department) by the end of January.

The old duplex at the east of the construction site is currently being remediated in preparation for demolition. Once it has been taken down and removed, work will begin on the new parking lot in front of the main entrance to the tower.