U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman says a VA hospital under construction in Aurora is on schedule and on track to come in within its current budget of $1.7 billion.
Coffman said Wednesday the work is now fully under the control of the Army Corps of Engineers, a step lawmakers demanded after massive cost overruns.
The current cost estimate is nearly triple the figure the Department of Veterans Affairs gave in 2014. Investigators blamed the overruns on multiple design changes and a decision by VA officials to use a complicated contract process they didn't fully understand.
A renegotiated contract calls for completion of the medical center by January 2018. It will replace an aging hospital in Denver.
Coffman said he and other members of Colorado's congressional delegation got a briefing on the project Wednesday.
