RUMFORD – Visitors, employees and patients can no longer drive to the rear of Rumford Hospital because a long anticipated nearly $5.9 million construction project is about to begin.

The rear parking area has been closed so general contractors Ledgewood Construction can start work.

Employees and others are being directed to a leased lot on Knox Street to park their cars, hospital spokeswoman Jane Bubar said.

On Monday, subcontractors are expected to begin pulling up the pavement, then later in the week, begin digging and blasting to make way for the 15,700-square foot, two-story addition and a renovation to about 7,200-square-feet of the newest hospital wing.

How fast the work will be done depends on the amount of ledge under the pavement, she said.

The entire project may be completed as early as December.

Besides the existing entrances, which will be open during construction, one will be built on the addition facing the helipad.

The new wing will include an operating room, 16 private rooms, two semiprivate rooms, two intensive care rooms, two labor/delivery rooms, and one post delivery room.

Also, there will be accommodations for families to stay overnight when necessary, and each new room will have a bathroom and shower.

This is the third stage of a multiyear project aimed at bringing the hospital up to codes and services.

Previous projects have included construction of a glassed in main entrance, renovation of the emergency room and major upgrades to the hospital’s infrastructure.

Rumford Hospital is part of the Central Maine Medical Center group of health care facilities.