PAGE A8 – January 2009 – The GTA Construction Report
Crane comes down as six-storey expansion goes up
MATTHEW DESROSIERS – The GTA Construction Report Editor
Mount Sinai’s six-storey expansion proj- to put back the structural steel we moved
ect reached a milestone as workers disman- before,” he said. “It worked out fine. Now
tled the tower crane which had been all the big mechanical equipment is all up
perched on the hospital’s 14
th
floor. there, so we’re starting to close it up.”
On Friday, November 28, Vanbots Con- The removal of the crane means the
struction shut down Murray Street, allow- building shell is nearly complete. All of the
ing 17 tractor-trailers on site to deliver a structural steel is in place, the windows are
600-tonne mobile Grove crane to use in the 50 per cent installed, and the roof is nearly
dismantling of the tower crane further up done as well, he said.
the building. Dube expects by February this year the
Workers spent the day Friday assem- building will be completely closed up, at
bling the mobile crane, and worked until 2 which point the only thing left in phase one
a.m. Sunday morning tearing down the of the project is to complete the seismic up-
tower crane. Murray Street was reopened grading.
later that day. “There’s a new code requirements,” said
Altaf Stationwala, vice president of op- Stationwala. “What we’re doing is rein-
erations and re-development, said it was a forcing a number of columns in the build-
major milestone for the hospital’s ongoing ing, expanding the length and width of a
expansion project. Despite having to shut number of sheer walls, but the more diffi-
down the entire street, the major challenge cult piece is the post-tensioning in the ele-
was protecting the microbiology lab, which vator shafts.”
was directly underneath the tower crane. The challenge there is twofold. Not only
“We did a lot of forward planning to en- is the amount of work significant, but also ter inch steel cables to the rock. They are thing happens, the building moves a lot
sure that at no time the lab would have to coordinating construction with elevator post-tensioned at the basement level, while less.”
shut down while construction occurred shutdowns to minimize disruption in the another set of cables are post-tensioned on Work on the seismic upgrades will be
above their head,” he said. hospital has been a chore. the 20
th
floor. complete in January 2010. Afterwards, a
Mount Sinai, as well as Scarborough There are three elevator banks, each with Each cable is post-tensioned to roughly second phase of the project is planned to
Hospital and the University Health Network three elevators, which require these seismic 48,000 lbs. The crew also must install mas- complete the upgrades to the hospital. It
use the microbiology lab. upgrades. Dube said it’s the first project of sive steel plates, which weigh approxi- should be finished by 2016, Stationwala
“Any disruption to our lab would have its kind in Canada. mately 10,000 lbs each, throughout the said.
had huge implications across the city.” “It’s been tough going,” he said. “It’s elevator areas. When the project is completely wrapped
Errol Dube, project manager with Van- probably one of the toughest jobs I’ve done “All these plates are also anchored onto up, Mount Sinai will have increased capac-
bots, said the weekend project went very in my career.” the elevator shaft,” Dube said. “What that ity, increase seismic protection, and higher
well. In each elevator bank, the crew drills 85 does is secure the building into the rock, so levels of overall health care and standards.
“Where we removed the crane, we had feet into the ground, and anchor three-quar- if there’s a massive earthquake or some-
Top bidder still to be determined in hospital expansion project
MATTHEW DESROSIERS – The GTA Construction Report Editor
porate communications with RVH. It is mands of the steadily growing area. Ac-
slated for completion in late 2011. cording to Statistics Canada, Barrie is the
With the tender process closed, and fi- The expansion will nearly double the ex- faster growing metropolitan area in the
The Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) ex- nancial and commercial closes scheduled isting hospital, adding 400,000 sq.-ft. of country, Legue said. The population grew
pansion project is set to begin once a win- toward of the end of this month, construc- new space, including the Simcoe-Muskoka 24 per cent between 2001 and 2006.
ning bidder is selected from the list of tion will hopefully start later this winter, Regional Cancer Centre. “That explosive growth has mean the
proposals received before October 2008. said Suzanne Legue, senior director of cor- “We really describe it as kind of a hospital has found it increasingly challeng-
quadruple threate,” said Legue. ing to keep pace,” she said. “Simply put,
The project will create hundreds of jobs we’re bursting at the seams.”
during construction, and upon completion Although the hospital is only 11 years
will add over 1,200 skilled professionals to old, the next expansion is, in essence, build-
the hospital’s payroll. Not only will it pro- ing a new hospital alongside it.
vide a tremendous boost to the economy, In addition to the new construction, the
but most importantly, it will bring quality project will also see nearly 100,000 sq.-ft.
care closer to home for Barrie residents, she of renovations on the existing site.
said. “For this community, this is a big deal.
In addition to the Simcoe-Muskoka Re- This is the only hospital in Barrie, and it is
gional Cancer Centre, the expansion proj- the largest hospital in Simcoe County and
ect includes the addition of 101 inpatient Muskoka. We’re very appreciate that it re-
beds, and an expanded laboratory. mains a top priority with the government,
The emergency department will nearly (despite these economically troubling
triple in size, and include a trauma unit, iso- times).”
lation ward and mental health crisis team. Infrastructure Ontario is not prepared as
The diagnostic imaging department will yet to discuss the final pricetag of the proj-
double in size to meet the increase patient ect, however, in the interim RVH has begun
flow in the hospital, and a seven-bed coro- a fundraising campaign called “I Believe.”
nary care unit will be added for critically ill The goals of the campaign is to raise $35
cardiac patients. The project will also add million. Already, they have raised over $33
two new operating rooms that are larger million for the expansion project, which is
than existing suites for complex surgeries. the largest capital project in this region’s
The project was designed to meet the de- history.
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