PCL tops off Calgary Cancer Centre; $1.4B project remains on schedule in spite of COVID-19

The new hospital now stretches 13 storeys above grade, as well as five below, with about 124,000 cubic metres of concrete making up the backbone of the structure. PHOTO: Government of Alberta

Concrete crews in Calgary have all but completed their scope of work on a new cancer treatment facility following a final, 163-cubic-metre pour.

Prasad Panda, the province’s minister of Infrastructure, marked the milestone April 28 as work on the Calgary Cancer Centre shifts to the next phase.

“Achieving today’s construction milestone under the present circumstances is a remarkable achievement and is a testament to Alberta contractors and tradespeople,” he said in a release. “Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 1,000 workers are working on-site each day.”

With additional health and safety measures in place to guard against coronavirus, the general contractor on the project, PCL Constructors Inc., has kept the approximately $1.4 billion project on time and on budget. As on other job sites across the country, site management has eliminated as many in-person meetings as possible, implemented six-foot social distancing rules and enhanced job site sanitation practices.

The new hospital now stretches 13 storeys above grade, as well as five below. About 124,000 cubic metres of concrete make up the backbone of the structure. With the concrete work largely finished, the focus will shift to the building envelope, as well as the mechanical and electrical systems and early work on the building interior.

Once complete, the Calgary Cancer Centre will have 160 inpatient beds, more than 100 exam rooms, research labs and space for clinical trials. Among other areas, the facility will also have a dozen radiation vaults that rely on thick layers of concrete to protect staff and patients from unwanted exposure.

Construction on the new facility is scheduled to run until late 2022 and the new cancer treatment centre open to the public in 2023.