b'PORTAGE DISTRICT GENERAL HOSPITALImages courtesy of Southern Health-Sant Sud.Construction is now underway on a new two-level hospital in Portage la Prairie that will include 114 acute care inpatient beds, an expanded emergency department, additional treatment and assessment rooms, a trauma room, stretcher and ambulance bays and expanded outpatient services like diagnostics, dialysis and palliative care.The current Portage District General Hospital opened in 1956, says MacNair. [It] has undergone a number of additions and renovations since then, but a study commissioned in 2019 determined the current facility had a number of deficiencies that make it more cost-efficient to replace it thanto renovate.The project build involves a couple of unique challenges. We have a very high water table, and inconsistent geotechnical conditions that required mitigation because it sits right beside Crescent Lake, notes MacNair. The solution was to deploy special spliced pre-cast piles to be installed, with some reaching lengths [of] more than 100 feet. A lightweight fill called CEMATRIX was deployed all around the building exterior to help mitigate settlement issues due to the poor geotechnical conditions, and a dewatering system was installed by local contractor Cobbe Construction.The construction site is adjacent to the active helipad that services the current hospital, which will remain for use by the new facility. From a site management standpoint, stresses MacNair, There are some notable things that we have to be cautious of, because helicopters are coming in and out through that alleyway, so its just a consideration for the cranes and other construction operations [that would be affected by the intense rotor wash].With the new hospital construction also comes an update to the mechanical infrastructure, which requires special attention to spaces and routing. MacNair says that mechanical and electrical trades worked closely with the engineering team to create optimized routing through the crawlspace. This involved a largeFast Factsvolume of prefab MEP systems that improve safety, productivity, scheduling issues and space functionality for the purposes of long-term maintenance.This is the largest capital project everPortage District General Hospitalconducted within the Southern Health-Sant Sud region, concludes MacNair. We haveScheduled Completion Date: November 2025engaged with staff and the facility as well asAnnounced Budget: $455 millionresources across the whole region to design a state-of-the-art facility that will meet the needsContractor: PCL Constructionof this community now and into the future.46 BUILD MANITOBAwinnipegconstruction.ca'