It arrived in pieces on multiple tractor-trailer rigs and required a few days to assemble, but there is now a tower crane on the South Niagara Hospital site. Standing 52 metres tall, it is the first of four cranes to be installed over the next few months, and used in building 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 daily, 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 to support the building foundation. In time, we will see the first concrete pour in the basement level, and 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.
Top: The first of four tower cranes was erected on the South Niagara Hospital site in early February.
Left: Progress photo during assembly of the first tower crane.
Above: Assembly of the second tower crane.
