It's taken far longer than the three weeks they thought it would last fall, but the old Humboldt District Hospital building site should finally be cleaned up by the end of May. Crews are starting to wind up the last of the processes happening on the site, reported Andrew Wagner, director of capital construction and project management for the Saskatoon Health Region (SHR) last week. "They are doing concrete crushing on site," Wagner said, as some of the concrete will be recycled for use at construction sites elsewhere in the province. Old concrete is often used on wet clay to stabilize ground conditions on construction sites, Wagner indicated. By the end of May, the site of the former hospital should be completely cleaned up."It's almost done," Wagner said. The process has taken a long time.Issues with finding a subcontractor delayed the demolition - the one originally hired for the project backed away, and they had to find another one, Wagner noted, so they lost quite a few months trying to track down another contractor even before demolition ever began. When another contractor came on board to do the work, and demolition began, they had a different work plan than the original contractor, Wagner noted, and decided to use different methods to get things done. The actual demolition of the three-storey plus basement brick building hit a snag when it was realized just how strong a structure the old hospital was. The old walls did not want to come tumbling down when the wrecking ball hit for the first time on September 27. Prior to that day, crews believed they could have the structure knocked to the ground within three days, and have the site cleaned up in three weeks. However, the first few hits with the wrecking ball had only a few bricks falling and from that point on, it was clear the estimate of three days was way off. Six weeks later, much of the structure was still standing, and it stood for months after that point.Once the structure was partway down, debris-hauling began, and crushing of some material began on site. The majority of the debris, including crushed concrete dust, came back to Saskatoon, Wagner noted.However, weather conditions and their effect on road bans slowed the disposal process, while crushing continued at the site. This disposal part of the project has taken the most time, Wagner indicated.All this means that the demolition and site cleanup will have taken eight months, if it wraps up by the end of May as now planned, instead of three weeks. The SHR has been patient with the process, Wagner noted, because the delay hasn't caused any major issues. "It hasn't been a major concern," he said. Time, he indicated, was not a major factor in this project, but they really wanted to keep the costs low. So as long as the cost remains the same, and there's no urgent need to get the structure down and the site cleared, the SHR has been content to wait for the contractor to get the work done. The delays have really had no impact on the community, either, and have not affected the health and safety of the citizens of Humboldt - two things that were also considered, he added. "The Sisters (of St. Elizabeth) have been very patient with us, too. They have not been pressuring us," he noted. "We look at it... (as this is) the best financial way to complete the project."Once the site has been completely cleared, the land the hospital sat on will be returned to the Sisters of St. Elizabeth. Returning the land to the Sisters of St. Elizabeth without a structure on it was part of a deal struck between the Saskatoon Health Region and the Sisters years ago, so the building had to be knocked down.Construction, Wagner added, is a very tough market to be working in There are lots of new, inexperienced people in the industry, he noted, and there is more work than anyone has ever seen in Saskatchewan. "That's the nature of the construction industry right now," he noted.
