AURORA, Colo. — Plumbers, electricians and carpenters are still at work on the Denver veterans hospital while the Veterans Affairs Department struggles to find another $830 million to finish it.
Contractor Kiewit-Turner said Saturday about 650 construction workers are still laboring on the facility in the Denver suburb of Aurora. That's down from about 1,200 last year, before exploding costs brought work to a halt in December.
Work resumed under an interim contract while the Army Corps of Engineers takes over day-to-day oversight of the project and negotiates a new deal with Kiewit-Turner to finish the facility.
The hospital is a major embarrassment for the VA. Last year, the department said it would cost $630 million and be done in 2015. Now it's expected to cost $1.73 billion and be finished in 2017.
