Mills Memorial Hospital Replacement - Terrace, BC

Time to get into the holiday spirit.

The REM Lee Hospital Foundation is hosting its 2021 Festival of Trees in Terrace this weekend. And PCL Construction, the contractor designing and building the new hospital, is one of the event sponsors.

More info about the Festival of Trees on the poster and on the REM Lee Foundation Facebook page.

See you there!

Foundations for the basement for the new Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace are now in place. Take a look at the time-lapse video at the link below to see how quickly things are moving. More time lapse videos and photos of the site are available at the MMH construction cam link.

June to October 2021 Time Lapse Video: https://letstalk.northernhealth.ca/mmh/widgets/97253/videos/8335

Construction workers pour and smooth concrete for the basement floor of the new hospital.

While numbers fluctuate regularly, approximately 60% of the workers currently on the Mills Memorial Hospital construction site are from the region. In addition, more than 20 local businesses have been contracted for a variety of services throughout the past five months of construction.

Kelly Lufkin, PCL Administrative Assistant and Document Controller

Kelly Lufkin has lived in Terrace on and off for 27 years, settling here permanently in 2004 to raise her two children, Tyler and Olivia, with her spouse Raegen.

“We enjoy spending time in our yard, exploring all the hidden gems Terrace has, family game nights, watching movies, travelling, and spending time with our friends and family,” Kelly said.

Kelly started working for PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. (PCL) as the Administrative Assistant/Document Controller for the Mills Memorial Hospital Replacement Project on September 1.

Kelly was a stay-at-home mom for about 10 years. She graduated from college at age 35, then eased back into work at her kids’ school as a Special Education Assistant. She then worked at Mills Memorial Hospital in a couple different positions, first, booking surgeries and later on, working in the diagnostics department.

“I applied at PCL because I felt like the position suited me and would work well for my home life,” Kelly said.

In her new position, Kelly supports PCL’s project management team.

“The company and people have been instantly welcoming,” Kelly said. “I think the project is coming along great. It’s exciting to watch the progression and be part of it. I have no experience in construction, so it’s been a great learning experience. I was surprised how quickly things move.”

In addition to general administrative tasks, Kelly maintains PCL’s project documents, ensuring they are accurate and distributed appropriately.

“I like that the job changes. And it’s exciting to see the progress of the hospital being built,” Kelly said. “I’m extremely happy for our community. This is something we’ve needed for a long time.”

The Eby/Haugland intersection will be open by the end of today, Tuesday, October 25.

After the intersection reopens, it will still need to be paved. The contractor aims to pave it sometime in the first two weeks of November, depending on the availability of local paving companies which are quite busy.

Another section of Haugland Avenue, just west of the main hospital entrance, also still needs to be paved. Water tie-ins for this section are not yet complete, and it’s still unknown when this section will be paved.

We will continue to post updates about road work related to the construction of the new Mills Memorial Hospital as more information becomes available.

Snow is on the mountains and the air is frosty. What a beautiful day!

Work stopped temporarily on the Mills Memorial Hospital construction site yesterday to honour Canada's first ever National Day Truth & Reconciliation. Around 2pm, all work stopped and everyone on site gathered underneath one of the the cranes. This included workers as well as some representatives from Northern Health and PCL's project teams.

PCL Construction Manager Michael King spoke a few words about the purpose of the new National Day (previously known as Orange Shirt Day) and the history of residential schools.

At 2:15 PM, an orange flag was raised on the boom of one of the tower cranes, and the workers stayed gathered together in silence, for 2 minutes and 15 seconds - to honour and remember the 215 Indigenous children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School - and the thousands of others - who never made it home.

Workers on site were silent for 2 minutes and 15 seconds to honour the children who didn't make it home from the Kamloops Indian Residential School - as well as all the others who didn't make it home, and those who did.

Indigenous workers on site, along with representatives from Kitselas First Nation Employment & Training department, in front of the orange flag that was hung from the tower crane.

PCL and Northern Health project team representatives. From left to right, Michael King (PCL), Les Krusel (PCL), Shirley Nichol (NH), Paul Rudecki (NH), Madison McCann (NH) and Derek Pearce (PCL

October 19, 2021 Update
Work took a little longer than planned but the intersection is expected to reopen at the end of this coming weekend.

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As of Tuesday, September 21, the intersection of Haugland Avenue and Eby Street will be closed for approximately three weeks, as the recently upgraded Mills Memorial hospital storm system is tied into the city’s water system.

While some roads in the area will be closed, all traffic will be coordinated through detours and local residents will be able to access their properties.

Visitors to the hospital are encouraged to use Tetrault Street to access the hospital while this work is underway. For those using public transportation, the Haugland Avenue bus stop, in front of the hospital, will be temporarily relocated approximately two blocks east on, towards Walmart.

Work hours will be approximately 7am to 7pm, seven days a week.

Please follow all signage and obey traffic personnel.

We apologize for any inconvenience in advance but upgrading the storm and water drainage systems in the area is necessary as part of the construction of a new hospital.

Any schedule changes will be posted on Let's Talk MMH.

An MMH construction cam is now available to the public!

That means any day, any time, you can see where construction of the new hospital is at.

On the construction cam link you zoom around the site, view past photos, and compare photos of different days. You can also view and download time lapse videos.

The link has views and photos, from two video cameras mounted on the roof of the current hospital. One view faces north, overlooking the tower cranes and construction of the new hospital. The other view faces west, overlooking the future site of the new Seven Sisters facility.

The cameras takes photos every fifteen minutes.

Check the MMH construction cam. Play around!

3-D model on display at Skeena Mall and hospital

Your input is important

Thank you to everyone who has viewed the draft designs and displays. We've had some great comments and questions come in - written on the feedback boards at the displays, and here, on Let's Talk.

Responses are forthcoming

Please be patient as we sort through all the great feedback we've received. We need some time to process all the information we've received.

Draft Designs on display

Until Thursday, September 23, draft designs - including a 3-D model - are on display at the Skeena Mall in Terrace, and in the basement of the Mills Memorial Hospital, near the cafeteria for a few more days. For anyone who can't make it see the display, draft designs are also online here, on Let's Talk.

Check out the landscaping plans for the project!

The designer has included greenery throughout the site including a spiritual garden, a staff garden and a garden at the main entry. A variety of factors were considered in the design and choice of plants such as safety, climate, local significance and long-term maintenance and durability. As much as possible, the designer included native plants.

Click on the images to below to download PDFs of the landscape plan and plant list.