Delays and bureaucratic knots have pushed the complete opening of a $1 billion New Orleans' VA hospital complex back to the end of 2017, according to an article on the Times-Picayune website.
Officials say the first patient will enter the facility's front doors by the end of this year, however.
Construction began on the hospital in 2010 with an opening date of 2014. But the widespread problems in the federal Veterans Affairs Department slowed the project. It also was hampered by New Orleans' ancient infrastructure, unforeseen underground obstacles and weather.
Its timeline slipped and its budget jumped by 66 percent, a 2013 report from the Government Accountability Office showed.
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