Category #construction Show all
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Working through the night January 24 & 26
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkLarge concrete pours for the new Seven Sisters will take place on the Mills Memorial Hospital construction site on Tuesday, January 24 and Thursday, January 26.
These are two of the last concrete pours needed for the new Seven Sisters facility.
Workers will be on site past 7 PM and into the night on both these days in order to finish the concrete. As a result, there will be some additional lighting and equipment will make some noise. The workers will do their best to control the noise levels and keep lights from shining into nearby residents.
Most concrete work is completed throughout the day. However, when large pours take place, it is sometimes necessary to work longer hours to finish the concrete.
We apologize for the inconvenience in advance.
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Working through the night December 15 & 16
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkLarge concrete pours for the new Seven Sisters will take place on the Mills Memorial Hospital construction site on December 15 and 16.
Workers will be on site past 7 PM and into the night on both these days in order to finish the concrete. As a result, there will be some additional lighting and equipment will make some noise. The workers will do their best to control the noise levels and keep lights from shining into nearby residents.
Most concrete work is completed throughout the day. However, when large pours take place, it is sometimes necessary to work longer hours to finish the concrete.
We apologize for the inconvenience in advance.
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Slowing down for the holidays
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkHeads up that only a few workers will be on site between December 23 and January 3. The majority will be at home, celebrating the holidays, and enjoying a much deserved break. Hopefully you get to do the same!
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Last pieces of Sleeping Beauty removed
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkThe few remaining pieces of the Sleeping Beauty building are being removed from site today. The building was originally built in 1961 and was demolished last week to make room for the new hospital.
Learn more about Sleeping Beauty's history and the area being cleared.
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Video: Sleeping Beauty demolition
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkA backhoe opens a hole in the roof of the Sleeping Beauty as the building demolition begins on November 3, 2022. Click on the photo to see a short video.
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Alert! Increased activity on Haugland
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkConstruction of the new Seven Sisters, on the southwest corner of the hospital site, has begun. That means more contractors and suppliers are now using the site entrance (Gate 2) on Haugland Avenue, and traffic in this area has increased.
We suggest those who tend to travel or park along Haugland, especially near Eby Street, aim to park elsewhere and be cautious.
The new Seven Sisters is expected to be complete by the end of 2023.
The foundation of the building is now underway and concrete will start to be poured next week.
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Farewell Sleeping Beauty
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkStarting Monday, October 31, the Sleeping Beauty building on Tetrault Street will be demolished over approximately five days.
The demolition of Sleeping Beauty is necessary to make room for the new Mills Memorial hospital and parking at the future facility.
While the demolition won’t be especially noisy, it may cause airborne dust. Depending on the weather, to mitigate this dust, the contractor will use hoses to dampen the material as needed. Still, we suggest neighbours keep windows closed during this time. It’s cold outside, so hopefully won’t be a problem!
Temporary closure of Tetrault parking lot
To accommodate the demolition of Sleeping Beauty, the new, temporary hospital parking lot on Tetrault street will be fenced off and unavailable between Sunday, October 30 and Sunday, November 6. This will ensure the safe movement of trucks removing materials from the site and prevent damage from flying debris.
We understand any decrease in parking is difficult and we are working to find solutions to relieve this temporary situation next week.
Multipurpose building with a rich historySleeping Beauty was originally built in 1961. Over its lifetime, the building has had many purposes, including but not limited to being a nurses' residence as well as a place for visiting specialists and expectant mothers. For many years, it was home to Terrace's pediatric services. Soon after construction of the new hospital began, pediatric services to the Park Avenue medical clinic. In the future, pediatric services will move to the Keith Avenue mall, across the street from the new hospital.
In the last few months, Sleeping Beauty served as an office for PCL, the main contractor designing and building the new hospital.
While it’s sad to say goodbye to a building with such rich history, it’s exciting to make way for the new hospital.
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New Seven Sisters construction underway
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkNew Seven Sisters construction is underway!
In the last couple weeks, workers broke and removed the asphalt from the parking lot outside of the current Mills Memorial Hospital's psychiatric department. They also built up and leveled the ground in the area. This is so that work on the new Seven Sisters' foundation can begin.
Seven Sisters is a regional mental-health facility that provides long-term rehabilitation and recovery programs for adults living with serious and persistent mental illness. The redevelopment will allow more people to receive care in a larger space with additional amenities.
“The new Seven Sisters will ensure that when people in northwestern B.C. need mental-health support, they get timely, high-quality care close to home, which is crucial to their recovery,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “We are committed to continuing to build a strong healthcare service network in the region, which will help build resilient communities.”
“When people make the brave decision to reach out for mental-health and substance-use supports, it’s crucial that these supports are available no matter where they live,” said Sheila Malcolmson, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. “The new Seven Sisters in northwestern B.C. will bring more treatment options to northern communities, adding to the comprehensive and seamless continuum of mental-health and addictions care our government is building for all British Columbians.”
Nearly twice the size
The new Seven Sisters will be nearly twice as big as the existing building and include 25 beds, which is an increase from the current 20. The new facility will also add treatment rooms, meeting spaces and recreational facilities. Patients will have access to abundant natural light and outdoor space.
"Seven Sisters is a valuable facility in Northwest B.C. A new building is key to serving the needs of vulnerable populations in our region," said Colleen Nyce, Chair, Northern Health Board. "The increase in the number of beds, the size of the facility and the amenities in the facility will improve the quality of living and care for patients, and improve the ability for staff to give that care.”
Part of the MMH Replacement Project
The Seven Sisters project is part of the Mills Memorial Hospital Replacement project.
Both the new Seven Sisters and new hospital are being built on the same site as the existing facilities. The new Seven Sisters will be on the southwestern corner of the site to the left of the existing hospital's main entrance.
The existing Seven Sisters facility will be demolished, and the site will be used for the new hospital.
"Seeing the new Mills Memorial Hospital construction progress so smoothly and so quickly over the past year has been very rewarding for the people in our region," said Barry Pages, Chair, North West Regional Hospital District. "Now, with the construction of a new Seven Sisters beginning, the people of Northwest B.C. have even more to look forward to."
The new mental-health facility is expected to be complete in late fall 2023.
Go to the Mills Memorial Construction Cam link to check out progress on what will be the future hospital and new Seven Sisters. To see the new Seven Sisters site camera, select 'Mills Memorial Hospital 2' under location, on the left side of the page.
Read the October 19, 2022 BC government news release 'Construction starts on new mental-health facility in Terrace'.
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Cranes are coming down!
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkTerrace’s skyline will change drastically in the next few days.
As of Tuesday, October 4, the two tower cranes on the Mills Memorial Hospital (MMH) construction site will be gone.
The cranes garnered significant attention when they first went up. For several months, local residents – including many excited children – would stand on the sidewalk near the Sande Overpass watching them work. Similarly, local photographers and videographers took the opportunity to catch visuals of the cranes swiveling and lifting, as this is the only time Terrace has ever had something like this in town.
The cranes will be dismantled over the course of four days, starting Friday, September 30. The crane on the south end of the site, closer to Haugland will be taken down first and the crane on the north end will follow.
Tower cranes are made up of a vertical tower (the mast) and an outstretched jib (the working arm). The jibs will be removed first, then the vertical towers taken down in pieces. This is the reverse order of how the cranes were put up.
The two cranes were initially erected just over a year ago, in August 2021, for the purpose of moving heavy equipment and materials. With the structural bulk of the new hospital complete, from here on, either smaller, mobile cranes or teleporters, which are forklifts with an extending boom, will be used to move materials to upper floor locations.
Fun facts about the MMH tower cranes and its operators!
- Each operator works with a person on the ground, called a rigger or a swamper. A rigger’s main responsibility is to safely hook up loads for the operator to move with the crane.
- Each morning the MMH crane operators would start their shifts at 6am and meet to discuss plans for the days with safety being at the forefront of these discussions. They’d start climbing up their towers to the crane cab at approximately 6:20 am, often in the dark but under the bright lighting on the top of the mast guiding their way. After running safety tests and inspections, they’d start moving materials around 7am. Shifts were 12 hours long, ending at 6pm, and the operators take their breaks in the cab, not leaving their post until the end of their shift.
- Each crane has two radio systems for on site communications. One is used to communicate with the rigger. The other communicates with the other crane operator.
- Crane operators must consider many factors when moving materials on site, including but not limited to, what’s happening on the ground, the weight and shape of the materials, the outside climate (especially the wind), how to best mitigate risks, and much more.
- Each operator works with a person on the ground, called a rigger or a swamper. A rigger’s main responsibility is to safely hook up loads for the operator to move with the crane.
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Changes to parking
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Email this linkUltimately, parking at the new Mills Memorial Hospital will be double what’s available now, going from approximately 150 to 300 spaces.
In the meantime, however, as the project’s main contractor PCL and Northern Health delicately juggle building a new hospital while continuing to operate the current hospital on the same site, visitors will once again notice a change in parking.
The most recent changes include:
- A new, temporary, employee-only parking lot has been added on Haugland Avenue, west of the main entrance.
- The parking lot next to the psychiatric ward, just off Haugland Avenue, is no longer accessible.
- Only authorized vehicles are now allowed in the parking area just beyond the emergency department. This means visitors can no longer park in that area nor drive through and exit onto Haugland Avenue.
These changes are necessary as construction of the new hospital continues and site prep work for the new Seven Sisters facility begins.
To alleviate the impact of these steps in the construction process, last summer, PCL built a temporary gravel parking lot with 70 new spots. This new lot adjacent to Tetrault Street, in between the current hospital and current Seven Sisters facility, has been in use since July 2021.
Thank you for adhering to all parking rules as we move forward with this exciting project!
- A new, temporary, employee-only parking lot has been added on Haugland Avenue, west of the main entrance.