It arrived in pieces on multiple tractor-trailer rigs and required a few days to assemble, but in early February a tower crane standing 52-metres tall was erected on the South Niagara Hospital site. Week after week a few more cranes were erected, and by mid-March all four tower cranes were fully operational and working hard to build the 1.3-million-square-foot hospital.
The building itself has a footprint of only 23,225 square metres, a design feature that will help with walkability, accessibility and wayfinding, but it will stand an impressive 12-storeys. At 61 metres, the South Niagara Hospital will be one of the taller buildings in Niagara Falls, visible from kilometres away.
The cranes will be used to lift and place concrete formwork, rebar, heavy steel beams and other building supplies and equipment at great heights. At peak times there will be more than 1,000 workers onsite, and as they build the hospital floor by floor, the tower cranes will be instrumental in helping them get the job done.
By design, the building will have a podium base and tower floors. The podium levels will be home to the emergency department, diagnostic imaging, mental health and addictions services, dialysis and other outpatient clinics. The tower floors will hold 469 patient bedrooms that will be used to treat complex care, critical care, medical and surgical patients. All bedrooms will be single-patient rooms with private washrooms, a feature that will improve infection prevention and control measures while also increasing privacy for patients and families.
Located at the corner of Montrose and Biggar roads in Niagara Falls, contractors broke ground on the project in July 2023. After excavation was complete, deep foundation work began with the driving of 1,250 steel piles into the bedrock. Currently, the tower cranes are being put to work building the foundation wall forms, column forms and elevator pits, and in time we will see the building structure begin to rise.
Installation of the tower cranes signifies an important step in the construction process. From kilometres away, those travelling around the site will be able to see the cranes in action, and know that crews are working hard to bring a new state-of-the-art hospital to south Niagara.
Watch the live feed camera to see the construction progress on the South Niagara Hospital.
Antonietta Culic is a senior communications specialist at Niagara Health, with the South Niagara Hospital Project.
