Some Steinbach residents have noticed long sandwich-like structures on the back of a truck near the Bethesda Hospital.

“These big metal sandwiches are actually pieces of shoring equipment,” says Reynold Peters, the Regional Manager of Construction and Energy Savings for Southern Health. This equipment will safely support trenches that are being excavated in order to house electrical connections for a new mechanical cooling system that will replace the well water system currently being used in the Bethesda operating suites.

According to Peters, the present work represents only a small part of the five-million dollar project announced last July.

“This is the beginning of the next year and a half of construction at Bethesda Hospital which will encompass a redevelopment and redesign of the main distribution, the emergency power and the cooling for both the operating suites and the entire facility.”

Peters indicates that the project will be built in smaller stages until it is completed sometime in 2020. He admits that this initial work may occasionally obstruct traffic, but adds that it should be finished by Christmas.

Read more: Multi-Million Dollar Upgrade Announced For Bethesda, Improved HVAC Systems At Bethesda Seen As Vital

Excavation being done as a part of multi-million dollar project