Project Updates

April 2013: Topping Out the Steel

Project team members, employees and friends of St. Mary's gathered April 19 as construction crews hoisted the final structural steel beam into place on the hospital structure's south end. After remarks by St. Mary's President Brent VanConia and Alberici Healthcare's Project Manager Tim Gunn, a crane lifted the 38-foot beam 60 feet into the air and into place as iron workers secured it to the steel infrastructure. Atop the beam were an American flag and an evergreen tree, following the ceremonial tradition of many such events.

This "topping out" ceremony marks the latest milestone in the facility's 30-month construction cycle. Beginning this summer, crews will begin to apply the building's terra-cotta and zinc exterior, after lifting restroom pods assembled offsite into place. The building will be totally enclosed and weather tight by December, with final completion of construction scheduled for late 2014.

Winter 2013: Steel Superstructure Comes Together

You can see the new hospital project literally taking shape from several vantage points across town. Concrete and metal structures are materializing in tandem, as steelworkers assemble the project’s frame from north to south.

Crews will begin pouring concrete floors for the building’s six stories in the spring, just in time for pre-constructed bathroom pods to be hoisted onto the decks. The hospital will be encased in its terra-cotta and zinc outer shell starting this summer, and the building will be completely weather-tight by December.

Meanwhile, about six miles away, other crews have been assembling the hospital from a different perspective — the inside. Workers are putting the final touches on realistic patient room mockups — complete with actual finishes, ceilings and floor coverings. Hospital staff will be able to tour and train in the realistic room representations.

Fall 2012: Foundation Being Laid

Construction on the new St. Mary’s is going full-steam ahead atop the bluffs overlooking Highway 179 in western Jefferson City.

Crews have been pouring the foundation, footings and deep concrete shafts that will support the huge superstructure of the facility. In addition, workers have been busy laying electrical lines and installing other utilities such as storm drainage, electrical power and the water supply for the new campus.

Construction crews completed excavation of hundreds of tons of rock in late-August, which produced a flat plane on which the hospital will sit. After finishing foundation work on the site, crews will begin building the hospital’s steel skeleton later this year.

The $200 million hospital construction project is expected to be a major boon to the region’s economy. Local laborers from Cole and adjacent counties will provide more than 750,000 of the 1 million labor hours.

Meanwhile, interior design nears the homestretch as detailed patient room mockups are being assembled in the project annex facility near the current hospital. Those mockups will include final flooring, ceilings and other surfaces to completely capture the look and feel of each room type.

Hospital staff will be able to view and "try out" each room mockup to get a better idea of future work flows. Rooms will incorporate distinct areas for patients, visitors and caregivers, who will stay closer to patients through a decentralized nursing approach.

July 18, 2012: Groundbreaking Ceremony

Hundreds of community leaders joined St. Mary's staff, physicians and project partners to officially break ground on the largest construction project mid-Missouri has seen in decades.

St. Mary's President Brent VanConia and SSM leadership, local and state officials, physician partners and diocesan clergy spoke to commemorate the occasion. After remarks by event speakers, Bishop John R Gaydos led attendees outside the tent to cap off the rite of blessing of the ground and to help ceremonially turn the first shovels for the project.

Site excavation will continue this summer, followed by foundation work before steel begins to rise from project site along Highway 179 in western Jefferson City later this year.

April 23, 2012: Site Clearing Begins

St. Mary's launches one of the largest construction projects undertaken in Jefferson City with the start of work on the hospital's new $200 million facility along Highway 179 and Mission Drive on April 23.

Crews began clearing the site for the eventual 40-acre hospital campus, opening in January 2015. St. Mary's leadership, construction team leaders, JCMG leadership, and media were onsite for start of site clearing work on the property.

An official groundbreaking ceremony on the new hospital site is scheduled for Wednesday, July 18, at 10:30 a.m.

Bulldozer clears brush Dr. Jennett, Brent VanConia, and Dr. Craighead Bev Stafford interview with KMIZ

March 2012: Road Nears Completion, Hospital Building is Next

With Mission Drive paving beginning this month and slated to be finished later in the spring, construction of the building itself is just around the corner.

And as with any project of this magnitude, coordination with the local community will precede the earth work. The Jefferson City Council has approved plat and infrastructure-improvement plans submitted by the hospital, which will develop 40 of the 110 acres of the site. After the council's approval, all planning and zoning components are in place for dozers to roll.

St. Mary’s site-improvement plan will preserve the natural look of the land as much as possible. Site clearing, grading and underground improvements will begin in mid-April, literally opening the way for the hospital’s official groundbreaking celebration July 18.

January 2012

Road crews have been making steady progress on the interchange project at the front door of the new St. Mary’s, while the hospital building itself advances toward the construction phase.

Project architects have been busy developing interior designs and construction documents, as a roster of subcontractors and a largely local construction workforce start falling into place. Several lead firms have been secured, and those companies soon will be adding employees in anticipation of this summer’s groundbreaking.

One of the highlights of the new campus will be a medical office building alongside the hospital that provides easy access to medical offices, ambulatory surgery and a community conference center. The complex will focus on convenient, well-situated medical practices that compliment services offered in the hospital.

St. Mary’s has already begun to plan for a groundbreaking ceremony for the new hospital — scheduled for July 18 next year. Mark your summer schedule now for the community event of the year.

October 2011: Highway 179 Re-opens

Highway construction crews finished work on a new Route 179 bridge for the hospital project's interchange, allowing the re-opening of the adjoining portion of Highway 179 -- about two weeks ahead of schedule.

Motorists welcomed the late-morning Monday removal of the barricades that had closed a portion of the highway for the past few weeks. Work continues on the other elements of the interchange, including a new Mission Drive that will take visitors to the hospital's front entrance. With that roadway completion before next summer, St. Mary's will break ground on the hospital building itself in July.

August 2011: Connecting to Highway 179

Construction crews are removing a portion of Highway 179 to build underpass ramps and a suspended highway for the Mission Drive interchange along St. Mary's new site. MoDOT has closed Highway 179 between West Edgewood Drive and Route C for 60-70 days for the work.

The new $7.4 million interchange is a joint effort of St. Mary's, the Missouri Department of Transportation, Jefferson City and Cole County.

Crews have been making steady progress in laying the road bed for what will become Mission Drive -- the main entryway into the new St. Mary's.

Emery Sapp and Sons Inc. of Columbia was awarded the interchange construction contract.

July 2011: Local Firms Learn About Participating in Project

More than 200 area subcontractors and suppliers attended a standing-room-only July 22 Jefferson City meeting held by project general contractor Alberici Constructors. At the gathering, Alberici construction project director Tim Gunn acquainted attendees with the $200 million project and outlined the process for working on the construction team.

Those in attendance represented a variety of contractors and suppliers, from custruction-oriented trades to electronic technology suppliers. Alberici expects to oversee more than a million work hours for the project, with as many as 500 workers onsite at one time.

July 2011: Paving the Way to the New St. Mary's

It’s official. Dirt is flying.

St. Mary's leaders joined state transportation officials and community members July 18 to inaugurate the first construction project related to the New St. Mary’s – an interchange on Highway 179, adjoining the hospital site.

Donning yellow safety vests atop a bluff overlooking the highway, more than 80 attendees heard remarks from key players in the project, including Jefferson City Mayor Eric Struemph, state Sen. Mike Kehoe and state Rep. Mike Bernskoetter. The diamond-shaped underpass will connect motorists to Mission Drive, the recently named roadway that will take future visitors to St. Mary’s new campus.

In announcing the start of the $7.4 million interchange project, MoDOT’s central district engineer Kirk Juranas touted the benefits of the hospital’s construction.

“That’s a $200 million development that will bring jobs to our area,” Juranas said. “Not only construction jobs, but also health care jobs.”

St. Mary’s President Brent VanConia said the construction project will allow the 107-year-old hospital to “continue to serve Jefferson City and central Missouri for another 107 years.”

Even as local officials turned a golden spade at the ceremony, bulldozers were doing some earth-moving of their own just to the north to prepare the area for the new roadways. MoDOT will finish the project in mid-2012, as construction gets under way on the hospital buildings.

“I’d like to acknowledge the many, many people who worked so hard to make this project a reality,” VanConia said. “St. Mary’s is extremely grateful for your support.”

May 2011: Unveiling Event Provides First Glimpse of St. Mary's Future

Community members and leaders joined the project team, hospital staff and physicians on Wednesday, May 18, for a special event to unveil the designs of the new St. Mary's. President Brent VanConia welcomed guests to the event and heralded the project as "the most modern health care facility in our state."

Also at the event, St. Mary's project manager and chief operating officer, Cathy Abrams, described some of the unique clinical features of the new design. "It's all about the patient," she said during remarks at the event. "We've taken years and years of input from our patients . . . and we've spent the past two years trying to figure out how to put all of that input into our new hospital."

VanConia said the Missouri Department of Transportation is letting bids this month for the construction of the Highway 179 interchange at the new hospital site. Construction of that project should be under way in July, he said.