Snoqualmie Valley Hospital received approval from the city of Snoqualmie last week to begin construction on their new site located off I-90 at exit 25. The Engineering Plan Review process is the city’s permitting process for the utilities that will serve the site.

“The permit approval is a significant milestone,” Jim Grafton, Capital Projects Manager for Snoqualmie Valley Hospital District, said. “For the first time, it allows us to start building structures on the site.”

The review process granted permission to construct water, sewer and storm drainage systems, roadways, sidewalks and paving. It also verified that environmentally sensitive areas (wetlands and

streams) would not be affected by construction. Engineering plan review is one of several stages of review by the city that are necessary before building construction can begin.

Utilities work and site improvement construction began this week with completion expected by mid- November.

The new 70,000-square-foot facility will be more than twice the size of the existing hospital. Construction will allow for full occupancy of the hospital’s 25 licensed beds and better access and service to outpatients, CEO of Snoqualmie Valley Hospital, Rodger McCollum said.

The new building will have individual, private inpatient rooms, inpatient and outpatient physical therapy, a larger emergency department, women’s health services, senior health services, rehabilitation services, a larger gastroenterology service, expanded laboratory services, imaging and diagnostic services and will accommodate an enlarged primary and specialty care clinic.

“We’re not changing anything that we’re doing, we’re just going to have more room to do it,” McCollum said.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the building construction is slated for early 2013.