Construction of municipal engineering will begin next to the Laakso riding field
Construction work that will last approximately 10 years will begin in the Laakso Hospital area. Work will start at the beginning of February with the construction of a pedestrian and cycling path between the Laakso Hospital area and the riding field.
Construction work lasting approximately 10 years is about to begin in the Laakso Hospital area, and during this time the entire hospital area will be renovated. Municipal engineering services will be the first to be built for the use of the new Laakso Joint Hospital. Work will start at the beginning of February with the construction of a pedestrian and cycling path between the Laakso Hospital area and the riding field.
New water supply and sewer lines, district heating and telecommunications cables will be built under the pedestrian and cycling route. At the same time, the lighting on the route will be renewed.
The temporary route for pedestrians and cyclists runs as close as possible to the normal pedestrian and cycle path. Access from Nordenskiöldinkatu will have to be closed and claimed as construction site area. For this reason, the entrance to the Children’s Traffic Town will move north side of this park.
Unfortunately, parking spaces at the Laakso square will have to be taken out of service.
Before the work starts, some small-scale clearing of brushwood will be carried out at the site and a few trees will be felled. The trees to be cut down have been inspected in advance and efforts will be made to remove as few trees as possible. There are approximately 10 trees to cut, and in addition, 1–4 trees will be pruned.
As a rule, work is carried out on weekdays between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. The exception to this is the last phase of work on Nordenskiöldinkatu in April–May, when work will be carried out during nighttime.
The construction of the municipal engineering route will progress in three phases:
- In February–March, metal sheet walling and pile-driving will be performed on the construction site close to the Children’s Traffic Town. The work will cause noise and last about three weeks.
- In February, small amounts of rock will be extracted in excavations at the riding field. The work will cause noise and last about two weeks.
- In April–May, the construction site will move to Nordenskiöldinkatu, and the new municipal engineering lines will be routed under the street. There will be no major impact on the traffic on Nordenskiöldinkatu, as the work will be done at night, and the lanes will remain open with the help of driving ramps. More detailed information on the work will be announced in April.
The access road to the construction site runs along the western border of the Laakso riding field at the front of Auroranportti, and there will be a lot of work machinery moving in that area.
The work to be started now will not cause any changes to the routes on the east side of the Laakso riding field or to the traffic on the Aurora bridge.
In addition, due to a wide transport arriving to the hospital area, parking spaces will be closed on Lääkärinkatu on a distance of approximately 20 meters between February 2–4. Space will also be reserved for the transportation on the hospital grounds, which is why parking spaces will also be taken out of commission during the same days.
Information on other construction work starting in the Laakso Hospital area will be provided later in the spring, as plans and timetables have been confirmed. Construction work will also begin in the vicinity of Auroranportti, the entrance to the Aurora Hospital area, as a new underground access road will be built to the Laakso Hospital area via Auroranportti. More information will be provided on this phase before the work starts.
The Laakso Hospital area is being reshaped
The City of Helsinki and HUS will reform the Laakso Hospital area. Laakso Joint Hospital will provide treatment for psychiatric and somatic illnesses. The hospital will have facilities for psychiatric inpatient care for HUS and the City of Helsinki, for specialized neurological rehabilitation organized by HUS and for half of the wards of the Helsinki City Hospital. In addition, there will be facilities for outpatient clinics supporting hospital operations, as well as for teaching and research.
The current Laakso Hospital area and its access routes will be changing. There will be three new hospitals in the area and a main access road via the tunnel from Auroranportti. Three protected hospital buildings will be renovated.
According to the current timetable, the construction project will take place between 2022 and 2030. The project will be implemented by the Laakso Joint Hospital Alliance.