The Bendigo Advertiser is continuing to publish a series of profiles on some of the people helping to build the new Bendigo hospital.
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ALBERT Weddell loves his new life in Bendigo.
The 24-year-old moved to Bendigo from Melbourne in November last year to start work as a site engineer at the new Bendigo hospital project site.
"I didn't want to just be going back and forth from Melbourne, I wanted to be a part of the community," Mr Weddell said.
"So I'm playing footy at the local Sandhurst club - they're a great group of blokes and they've certainly made us feel at home.
"It's a good way to feel a part of the community because you get to know all the supporters as well."
Mr Weddell said Bendigo had a lot to offer.
"It has everything you need," he said.
"It's a great experience working on the new Bendigo hospital project.
"I was previously working on the desalination plant in Wonthaggi, so it's a refreshing change.
"It's good to be working on a project that the community is actually excited about having and is interested in how it's going.
"The community hated the desalination plant project whereas the community here seems to really like the new hospital project."
Mr Weddell is a site engineer with Lend Lease's structure team.
It's a great experience working on the new Bendigo Hospital project.
- Albert Weddell
"I'm managing all the pre-cast vertical concrete which is all cast off site, most of it in Shepparton," he said.
"The retaining pre-cast package and the core pre-cast package are both cast in Shepparton and then I'm also sort of running the bunker construction, which also has a lot of pre-cast concrete in it as well.
"Because all my tradies are off-site workers the biggest challenge is probably co-ordinating the needs of off-site pre-casters with the needs of on-site workers who are actually installing the panels."
Mr Weddell said he was enjoying working on the project.
"It's really fantastic," he said.
"Seeing it come together from the ground up and all the little complications come together and how fast the structure moves is very impressive."
Major achievements in the first year of building include the excavation of more than 149,000 tonnes of soil, more than 15,000 square metres of concrete poured; and all four cranes on site.
Keep an eye on the Bendigo Advertiser's Hospital HQ page at www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/hospitalhq/ for the next hospital profile.