S.W.COLE has a long relationship with Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, New Hampshire. S.W.COLE has been retained to work on numerous projects, including a central utility plant, a four-story in-patient bed tower addition (which included the state-of-the-art Women and Children’s Center) and a six-story parking structure, in the last 15 years.
One of many projects at Wentworth-Douglass
Beginning in 2000, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital retained S.W.COLE to provide construction materials testing for a multi-phased building expansion and renovation plan: construction of main entrance additions; a new cancer care center; a two-story ambulatory care addition; and a six-level parking garage structure, helipad, four-story inpatient bed tower, and central utility plant. With the new additions, the size of the medical complex increased to 325,600 square feet. S.W.COLE’s construction materials testing services included field and lab testing of normal and lightweight concrete, soil and masonry, observation of structural steel erection and shear stud installation, and coordination of welding inspection and testing.
In 2003, work on the six-level parking garage began. The project consisted of a pre-cast parking garage addition with a footprint of 51,000 sf adjacent to an existing parking garage. The garage was designed to include six levels of parking. In the summer of 2006, the first three levels were constructed. The project also included an elevated helipad structure and pedestrian bridge. The garage addition and helipad are supported on approximately 90 drilled concrete piers ranging in diameter from three to six feet. Deep foundations allowed for future vertical expansion of three additional levels, which began construction in early 2011.
The firm was also retained in 2009 to perform explorations, geotechnical engineering services, construction materials testing and Special Inspections for the four-story in-patient bed tower. The 26,000 square foot plan area building is located in the southwest portion of the hospital campus and included the hospital’s highly anticipated Women and Children’s Center. S.W.COLE found that subsurface conditions varied greatly, and as such, the building is supported on about 100 drilled concrete piers ranging in diameter from three to six feet.
S.W.COLE’s geotechnical services on both the parking garage and in-patient bed tower included design of drilled concrete pier foundations, development of pavement sections and backfill and compaction specifications. S.W.COLE also performed construction quality control testing services, including drilled pier installation monitoring, soil and concrete testing, and Special Inspections. Additionally, we assisted the project architect in development and review of pertinent geotechnical construction detail and written project specifications.
