A bridge connecting St George Private Hospital to medical suites has been built, and will aim to give patients easier access to their specialist appointments.
Installed over the weekend, the bridge spans over South Street between the private hospital and a new St George Specialist Centre.
It spans 75 metres and is a 45 tonne steel structure framed by glass. It was put up on August 17, as several crews worked for 36 hours to finish it.
The completed build is part of a larger development project at the hospital costing $25.5 million. It includes a six-level specialist centre that will provide 34 consulting suites, and 92 car park spaces via two extra decks to the existing Hogben Street multi-deck carpark.
It is being marked as a new landmark building constructed by Ramsay Health Care, with the ambitions of creating a new gateway to the Kogarah Super Health Precinct.
A spokeswoman for Ramsay says the investment is imperative to the public and private hospitals' ability to retain and attract doctors to the area.
"We appreciate the support of the public hospital in strengthening the precinct," she said.
"The council and community support for construction of the centre and the bridge has been wonderful and is much appreciated by Ramsay Health Care as we continue to invest in the community's largest private hospital.
"We also appreciate the strong ongoing relationship with Georges River Council."
South Street, outside the main hospital entrance, is a notoriously busy area off Princes Highway, with no pedestrian crossing. Patients will only be able to access to bridge once inside the hospital and suites.
In May 2018, the Leader stated that the developer, AME Properties, a subsidiary of Ramsay Health Care, pushed for the elevated walkway, but it was not approved at the time by the Sydney South Planning Panel.
At the planning panel meeting last year, councillors Katris and Hindi had voted against the application because they considered the overhead bridge was unsightly and inappropriate.
But at the time, Ramsay stated that the hospital had reached development capacity and that it needed to expand across South Street in order to meet the growing demand for medical facilities to service the greater St George region.
