Obstacles slow Miller Children's Hospital expansion - Press-Telegram

Obstacles slow Miller Children's Hospital expansion - Press-Telegram: "LONG BEACH - One day - with a target date of December 2009 instead of the initial target of December 2008 - the new-and-improved Miller Children's Hospital will open, but not until the hospital overcomes a bevy of obstacles.

The project was approved in 2005 for a cost of $135 million, a price tag that has swelled to $189.3 million, officials said.

'As you may recall, Hurricane Katrina hit in August (2005) and construction prices escalated based on raw material availability and labor resources,' said Richard DeCarlo, Miller's vice president of operations. 'We then re-bid the project in 2006 and the project cost total rose to $151.1million.'"