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Construction Today Magazine
Construction Today Magazine
he explains. “All hospitals [in the region] “It basically necessitated the use of the “We are conducting our activities
have been planning major expansions in tower crane.” around their downtime,” he says. “We are
the last 10 years.” Another challenge is that the existing continually interfacing with operations
hospital is in operation during construc- and procedures.”
‘Long Process’ tion. For example, to complete construc- Weather has also been a problem, he
The project has been challenging, Balko tion above the existing hospital, the com- adds. Although the rest of the Hawaii is
acknowledges, because the site and stag- pany is taking off the roof on a daily experiencing a drought, it consistently
ing area are small. basis, which is above the maternity ward, rains in Moanalua Valley.
There is no space on the north and Balko says. He says the company and the Most of the project is being construct-
east side of the site, and only a 10-foot hospital hold regular meetings to ensure ed in an old parking lot, which has a vol-
area on the west side. “It took a lot of hospital and construction activities will canic rock substrate, Balko says. Precast
coordination and preplanning,” he says. not interfere with each other. was used for the exterior skin of the build-
ing to handle the environmental impact
from hurricanes, he says. Also, it was a
challenge to install the foundation in the
volcanic rock. It necessitated the use of
heavy demolition three feet from the
existing operating rooms.
He says the hospital and construction
companies were aware of these challenges
beforehand, which is why it started pre-
construction two years before it broke
ground in 2005. “It was a long process to
identify all the concerns and structural
issues,” he says.