LUDINGTON -- One of the major milestones in Memorial Medical Center's expansion project has been delayed due to weather.

Structural steel on the hospitals south exterior was scheduled to start today, but will now be postponed until Monday to ensure safety.

According to a release from Bill Kerans of Memorial Medical Center, the crane and materials are in place, but each time the construction team thought they would get a break in weather, a new cell would move in.

In order to maintain safety for the workers, the construction managers have decided to limit the crew's work to preparing the site so they can "hit the ground running" on Monday morning.

The first columns are expected to be set around 8:00 am on Monday.

The construction team estimates that it will take about four weeks to get the beam structure and roof deck fully in place. After that, another two weeks will be required to build the cantilevered canopy that will extend across the face of the new south expansion, which will house the new emergency department, new entrance and lobby.