More than 150 UA Local Union 393 plumbers, pipefitters and apprentices working on the new Stanford Hospital just reached an important milestone: Construction of the $2 billion project is halfway done.

The 824,000-square-foot Palo Alto hospital is is on track for completion in 2017 with the facility opening its doors to patients in early 2018. It’s a massive undertaking  that will be modernizing the hospital to meet California-mandated seismic upgrade standards, address a critical shortage of hospital beds and accommodate new medical technologies.

That includes:

• Adding 368 private, single-occupancy patient rooms, bringing the total to 600 on site
• Doubling the floor space of the Emergency Department, which will serve both children and adults
• Rooftop gardens
• 17 state-of-the-art operating rooms
• 11 interventional/radiology image-guided rooms
• A parking structure for 900 vehicles
• Upgraded water and gas lines

“It feels good to be on a project like the new Stanford Hospital knowing that the end result will be a caring and helping facility for not only my family, but for so many others as well,” said Scott Reese, a UA Local Union 393 job steward and Critchfield Mechanical Inc. employee. “I also feel that a project like this is great for the community. It lets people know that new science and medical breakthroughs are happening all the time, and new facilities are being developed to accommodate modern techniques.”

Members started working on this project in late 2013. They’ve since put in tens of thousands of manhours.

Clark/McCarthy — a joint venture between the Clark Construction Group and McCarthy Building Companies Inc. — is the general contractor. Subcontractors include Critchfield Mechanical Inc. and Pan Pacific-Murray Company.

Sam T. Lopez, a UA Local Union 393 job steward and Pan Pacific-Murray Company employee, said he’s “honored” to be putting this project together.

“The entire group of building trades workers work together here every day and this is very much a team effort by everyone involved,” he said. “All Local 393 members are very proud to represent their home local by working on the new Stanford Hospital project, as well as all United Association members who are traveling to work here and are also proudly representing their home locals by doing so.”