Construction Begins on Hospital's Skeleton

Construction began today on the structural steel that will form the skeleton for Temecula's first hospital.

Putting up the steel should be done within eight weeks, said Tom McCready, the project superintendent for DPR Turner Construction.

The next phase will include putting the decks -- or floors -- in place, and that should take about five weeks, the superintendent said.

The third phase will include "drying it in," or building the hospitals interior walls, McCready said.

Building the interior of the building is all that's left after the third phase, and the company is still in the planning phase for that, he said.

"The race is to get everything dried in," he said.

Despite occasional downpours and a gloomy sky, the first day of construction was going well, according to the superintendent.

"Things are where we expected them to be," he said.

The hospital was in the planning phase for more than a decade, leading some residents to doubt they would ever see it built. To read about what they said, .

Some members even accused Universal Health Services, the corporation building the hospital, of intentionally delaying construction so they could hold off on spending money during the bad economy while still keeping Temecula's hospital market cornered. To read more about the accusations, .

Rick Santorum, a front-running Republican presidential candidate, was found to be one of the board members of Universal Health Services during this controversial period of time. To read about this, .

Nonetheless, crews broke ground on the project in June. To read about the groundbreaking, .