Eric Krueger, Balfour Beatty senior vice president and division chief relationship officer, says technologies like building information modeling and iPads in the field are also allowing the company to expedite work through better collaboration with team members.

In San Antonio, University Health System's $899-million 2012 capital improvement project broke ground on the University Health Center Downtown in late 2010 and University Hospital in January 2011. Bartlett Cocke General Contractors, San Antonio, is building the first project, a clinical services building, while the joint venture of J.T. Vaughn Construction and Zachry Construction Corp., both of San Antonio, and Layton Construction Co., Phoenix, is building the 1-million-sq-ft, 10-story hospital, a central utility plant and a 3,000-car parking deck. In late March engineers issued a preliminary report on possible causes for the February collapse of a portion of the deck.

Other top health-care starts in Texas include the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, the Baylor Medical Center in McKinney and the Lakeway Regional Medical Center.

Rebuilding New Orleans

The Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System's 1.6-million-sq-ft Project Legacy in New Orleans will serve veterans across the Gulf Coast who have been without a local facility since Hurricane Katrina damaged the former Dept. of Veterans Affairs hospital. Congress allocated funds to rebuild the 200-bed inpatient hospital and clinic facility with the latest health-care and disaster-preparedness technology.

Mark Brideweser, project executive with the VA's Office of Construction and Facilities Management, says the U.S. Defense Dept. considers the design by Studio NOVA, a joint venture of NBBJ of Columbus, Ohio, and local firms Eskew+Dumez+Ripple and Rozas-Ward Architects, to be a prototype for future hospitals. “One of the big aspects of this facility is survivability,” says Doug Parris, managing partner for Studio NOVA. “The VA has designated this a mission-critical, defend-in-place medical center with the requirement to stand alone for seven days in the event of a disaster.”

The facility is built to withstand a category-5 storm surge, while providing medical care and housing patients, staff and families. Power generators, utility lines and other critical components are placed above the second floor, while a rainwater-harvesting system will collect 11 million gallons annually to supply patients and staff in an emergency. The building is designed to use 30% less energy and 20% less water.

A joint venture of Clark Construction and McCarthy Building Cos. of St. Louis, in association with New Orleans-based Woodward Design+Build and Landis Construction Co., is building the facility.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues its work on the New Orleans Hurricane Protection System. A joint venture of Archer Western Contractors, a division of Walsh Group, Chicago, and Alberici Constructors, St. Louis, began the New Orleans East Back Levee and the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity 111 project. The Greater New Orleans Hurricane Storm Damage Risk Reduction System project, also being built by Archer Western, will enlarge and reinforce 7.5 miles of existing levee, crossing I-10 and U.S. Highways 11 and 90.