Updated: Blasting in Lexington shakes ground, nerves. It will continue for months.
Blasting for pipe installation at the new Hamburg campus for Baptist Health Lexington began last week and will likely continue for several months, hospital officials said.
The blasting at the 129-acre site off of Polo Club Boulevard between Man o’ War Boulevard and Winchester Road has rattled windows and raised eyebrows in the surrounding Hamburg neighborhoods, including Tuscany, a subdivision across Interstate 75 from the new campus location.
Ruth Ann Childers, a spokeswoman for Baptist Health Lexington, said Congleton-Hacker, the contractor, has said blasting will likely occur between 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., weather permitting, for the next several months. The blasts will last a few seconds.
Susan Straub, a spokeswoman for the city of Lexington, said the hospital received its ground disturbance permits in November to begin construction on the campus. The complex will include a multi-story hospital, an outpatient surgery center, medical offices and a cancer center. Baptist Health Lexington has said the new campus, when completed in 2024, will employ up to 600 people.
The Baptist Health Lexington campus on Nicholasville Road will remain. The Hamburg campus will help the hospital system provide more outpatient services to clients from Lexington and the surrounding counties, hospital officials have previously said.
Blasting is overseen by state regulators. State officials said they have not found any violations at the Baptist Health Hamburg site.
“Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Goodman places a high priority on the health and safety of those who live near blast sites. Blasting may be conducted only by qualified and licensed blasters in Kentucky. However, Kentucky regulations do not require a permit to blast at a particular site. The Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement has conducted inspections and monitored one blast at the construction site. No violations have been found,” said John Mura, a spokesman for the cabinet.
This story was originally published December 16, 2020 at 10:39 AM.
