Radcliff Mayor Mike Weaver is working with some local entrepreneurs to put together a proposal to build a new veterans hospital in Hardin County.
Weaver says a new law allowing public-private partnerships would reduce the cost and expedite the construction schedule.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has estimated its preferred location in Louisville would cost around $900 million and construction would take ten years. Weaver says some veterans don’t have that long to wait.
"The youngest World War Two veteran is 90, the youngest Korean War veteran is 80, and the youngest Vietnam veteran is 62," Weaver told WKU Public Radio. "You know and I know that those people can't wait ten years for a hospital."
Weaver says investment groups would build the hospital under budget and within four years.
Currently, the only approved site for the medical center is near Brownsboro Road and the Watterson Expressway in Louisville. Weaver says the proposed Jefferson County site brings traffic and parking challenges just like the current facility.
The city of Radcliff has offered to donate 50 acres of land for the project.