VA plans improvements with demolition of old MRI building
POPLAR BLUFF -- Veterans visiting the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff will see improvements to the facility over the coming weeks, but patience is encouraged as construction work continues.
“Here at VA, we’re tackling a lot of projects to improve the facility and better serve our Veterans,” explains Project Engineer, Frances Chronister, when talking about the current work to demolish the campus’ old MRI building and the resulting renovation of the area adjacent to the north entrance of the main building.
“We have the new MRI on station now, so it has been in the works to demo this old MRI building for a while,” says Chronister.
Construction work began June 30 with the fencing off and closure of affected areas to maintain visitor and employee safety, including both outside and inside the main facility.
Outside, a perimeter fence was established around the demolition area, and inside, the north stairwell was closed, as was the exit-only door next to the old MRI building.
Demolition and cleanup of the MRI building took place July 6-7 by contractor crews from Won Freedom, Chronister notes.
“We still have a decent amount of work to deal with the parking lot and inside the vestibule area,” Chronister says. “Where the old MRI building was is now open and they are going to replace that with a storefront glass that will match the existing glass.”
All work should be completed by early August, she says, and in the meantime, access will be restricted for safety reasons. The north stairwell is expected to be reopened during the week of July 11-15, but the exit-only door will remain closed, and the outside fencing will stay in place until the project is complete.
“We’ll keep the fence up for the duration of the project because the contractor will have materials and equipment within the area, and they will still be working in the vestibule,” Chronister says.
The fencing will restrict vehicle traffic flow outside the north entrance, but only slightly, she says, as the original three lanes have been reduced to two.
“Originally, the plan was to have just one lane open, but working with the contractor, he was able to back his fencing up closer to the actual demo to leave some area open so we wouldn’t have as much congestion,” Chronister explains.
Once the work is complete, Chronister says, Veterans also will see another improvement resulting from the removal of the MRI building.
“What will be nice here is when this project is done, we’ll be able to open up a few more handicap-accessible parking spaces for Veterans,” she says.
While the north entrance remains open while construction continues, Veterans are encouraged to use the south entrance to avoid any congestion.
Those with questions may call the medical center at 573-686-4151.