February 22, 2002

At the present time, construction work that will lead to a new MGH ambulatory care building mainly involves the creation of slurry walls — concrete structures extending 100 feet down from ground level to bedrock, forming the foundation walls. The new building's slurry walls consist of 48 panels, each 3 feet wide and ranging from 7 to 24 feet in length. Slurry wall work began in late December, and will continue for approximately 60 work days.

To create slurry walls, workers dig holes and fill them with a soupy clay mixture called "slurry," which prevents the holes from caving in. A cage-like structure (see photo at right) then is placed into each hole, and cement is poured in as the slurry is pumped out. This process establishes the solid wall.

Once the slurry walls are in place, work will shift to the plaza deck. The deck forms both the top portion of the underground garage and the ground floor of the new ambulatory care building. Activity will take place on both sides of this deck as workers tunnel underground to build the six-story garage. Others will frame and create the much-needed ambulatory care building — one that will continue the MGH tradition of serving patients and their families in the best possible way.