Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital and the City of Columbia Chamber of Commerce are scheduled to celebrate the opening of a new Veteran and employee parking structure with a ribbon-cutting event at 10 a.m. Tuesday, December 3.
A news release says the ribbon-cutting event will take place on the first floor of the southwest corner of Truman VA’s new facility, located at 800 Hospital Drive. Event participants may park on the southeast corner of the first floor by entering the structure’s new employee entrance, located on the corner of Monk Drive and Truman VA’s Service Road.
The expansion project adds another 684 new parking spaces to the campus. This new structure increases parking access for Veterans and also will allow staff who now park off-site to park at the facility.
Truman VA’s garage expansion project began in August of 2018. The $8.7 million project has resulted in a four-story, 376,483 square-foot structure which almost triples its available parking resources. The completed garage now has 1,064 Veteran and employee parking spaces.
The first two floors of the new garage will be reserved for Truman VA’s Veterans and visitors. Floors three and four will be used for employee parking.
In addition to improved parking access, Truman VA also will deploy two 15-passenger shuttles that will be in operation during regular business hours each week. The climate-controlled shuttles will be dedicated to bringing Veterans and those accompanying them to the front door of the hospital for an easier, more rapid entrance.