After three and a half years, significant progress has been made on the construction of the Louisville VA Medical Center. Work is taking place inside and out all the structures across the site as construction completion nears.
Terry Durham, area engineer for the project, said the team has made substantial progress over the past year that will continue into 2026 as construction wraps up.
“The majority of site utilities are installed, the water tower is complete and construction of the water tower’s storage tank near the entrance of the site continues,” he said. “Over the next few months, the site will be graded in preparation for paving, sidewalks and perimeter fence construction. Foundations to support the structural steel for the laundry facility are being placed and loading dock concrete work is also nearing completion.”
He said the site utility work is also getting closer to providing essential conditioned air that’s critical for finishing interior work.
“The central utility plant is well underway with cooling towers set and equipment start up and testing planned over the next few months. This will enable the startup of the chilled water system and will be critical to cooling the medical center during the summer months,” Durham explained.
Both the North and South parking garages are also now structurally complete, and elevators are being installed in both.
“The exterior rain screens are also being installed on the North parking garage, which will complete the architectural aesthetics of that structure,” Durham added.
While there is activity on-going on the site, the majority of the effort is taking place inside the medical facility itself.
“Exterior panels on the west side of the facility are wrapping up. This will allow significant construction to continue on the interior of the facility. Framing, utility rough-in, and drywall is currently being installed,” he said. “Flooring is also underway with mockup rooms being completed for architectural review.”
“Interior buildout continues in the east side of the medical center, where many of the patient rooms are located,” Durham added. “Skylights and curtain wall are also going in to complete the enclosure of the concourse. The exterior of the medical center will really start to take shape over the next months.”
Durham said activities in the next year of construction will be critical, but he’s confident in the team’s ability to get to the finish line.
“I'm really proud of the hard work and dedication by my team, the construction contractor, and our counterparts at the VA. As we work to complete the interior of the medical center, the delivery and installation of high-tech medical equipment will require extensive coordination to ensure we get it right and provide the most state-of-the-art care,” he said. “I look forward to construction completion in 2026 and getting that much closer to providing veterans in our community the care they deserve.”