A section of Madison Street on the Rapides Regional Medical Center campus will close to traffic beginning on Monday, Dec. 19. The closure is necessary for the construction of a new helipad atop the South Tower.
The section of Madison Street that will be closed for approximately six months is located between the entrance to the parking lot in front of the Emergency Department and the Emergency Department’s ambulance bay.
“A crane will be placed on Madison Street in order to move supplies from the laydown yard to the top of the South Tower,” said Becky Barnes, Chief Operating Officer at Rapides Regional Medical Center. “I apologize for the inconvenience. This closure is necessary to ensure the safety of our patients, physicians, staff and visitors during the construction project.”
The helipad, being built by Tudor Construction Co., of Alexandria, is expected to be finished in September 2017.
An elevator dedicated solely for the new helipad is being constructed first. Once it is completed, work will take place on top of the South Tower. Patient care in the South Tower will not be impacted by construction.
The ambulance bay for the Emergency Department will remain open during construction, but ambulances will need to enter and exit from Fourth Street. The entrance to the Heart Center Parking Garage from Madison Street will be impacted by the closing of the street, but the Monroe Street entrance to the parking garage will remain open during construction.