LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville's new VA Medical Center facility is starting to take shape.
It's been in the making for decades, and now the $840 million project is becoming an eye catcher. This facility will replace the existing Robley Rex VA Medical Center on Zorn Avenue.
This comes nearly five months after blasting resumed and finished on site. Many people living nearby can remember late last year where the blasting mishap caused debris to fly onto the interstate and into some people's homes.
The damage caused some frustration, naturally, and the area engineer for this project says they've shored up any problems.
"We had to take a step back from that mishap," Terry Dunham, USACE area engineer, said. "It was obviously something we took very seriously and needed to ensure that if we were going to reconvene that type of work that we'd do it safely. Trying to gain their confidence back in doing that work right was important for us."
Now, 18 months since breaking ground, you can get a real sense of the floor plan of what will be a state-of-the-art facility. One of two planned parking garages -- expected to be the first structures to be completed -- has grown substantially.
The Louisville VA Medical Center will be more than double the size of the old facility. Officials with the project said the current construction contract includes erecting a new 910,115 square feet medical center, parking structures, a 42,205 square foot central utility plant, roadways, sidewalks, and other site improvements.
According to the VA's website, the new facility will increase the quality of how medical professional honor service and empower the health of veterans by providing them with advanced heath care.
The new hospital campus is being designed to keep "patient-centered care" and "whole-health concepts" in mind so officials can provide the best possible environment for all veterans.
The location of the new Louisville VA Medical Center is 4906 Brownsboro Road, right off of Brownsboro Road and along the Watterson Expressway.
The goal is to set the final steel beam by October or November and officially open in 2026.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.