SALISBURY — Parking at the Salisbury Veterans Affairs hospital may become slightly easier next month.

On Nov. 8, the W.G. “Bill” Hefner VA Medical Center plans to open the first floor of its new parking deck.

The first floor has 151 parking spaces.

Linette Baker, interim director of the Salisbury VA, said the remaining floors of the parking deck, which will have a total of 371 spaces, will open once the structure’s elevator is operational.

The Salisbury VA expects the parking deck to be used heavily. The deck is adjacent to Building No. 3, which houses primary care services and sees an average of 500 to 600 veterans per day, according to the Salisbury VA.

Primary care services is usually the first point of contact after enrollmen. The deck’s location should make navigating where to park easy for first-time patients, the Salisbury VA said in an emailed statement.

“Once the deck opens, a veteran should never have to search for a parking space or have to park elsewhere,” the Salisbury VA said. “We want every veteran who visits here to have the best health care experience possible, from parking to checkout.”

The total cost of the structure was $7.6 million. It will replace a 127-space parking lot that was in the same spot.

The Salisbury VA says the parking deck, once fully open, will offer a net gain of 243 parking spots.

In addition to the deck, other parking spots have been added to the campus to meet demand, the Salisbury VA said. Those include more than 400 temporary parking spaces since construction of the deck began. Some of the temporary gravel spaces have been approved to become permanent spaces.

Contact Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246.