Archinect - News

Salesforce Transit Center's structural fiasco saga revisited

2019-10-29T18:46:00-04:00

The cracks discovered beneath the rooftop park were classic brittle fractures. The tapered 4-inch-thick steel beams—2.5 feet wide and 60 feet long, with a horizontal flange on the bottom—undergirded the 5.4-acre park on the building’s fourth level, and buttressed the roof of the bus deck on the second level. By themselves, the cracks formed a point of weakness with potentially hazardous consequences. But they also suggested the possibility of a larger crisis.

Popular Mechanics offer a detailed recap of the events following the discovery of two cracked structural steel beams in the brand new $2.2 billion, Pelli Clarke Pelli-designed Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco in 2018.

San Francisco’s new $2.2 billion Salesforce Transit Center closed after 2nd steel beam cracks

2018-09-27T17:48:00-04:00

San Francisco’s new Transbay Transit Center will remain closed at least through the end of next week, officials said Wednesday, after yet another cracked beam was discovered during an overnight safety inspection. The $2.2 billion hub for buses and eventually trains, which opened just last month as the flashy centerpiece of city infrastructure, was closed abruptly Tuesday afternoon after a fissure was spotted in a beam that helps hold up the sprawling complex.

In a statement issued on September 26, Executive Director of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, Mark Zabaneh, said: "We apologize for this inconvenience to the public and commuters. I would like to assure the public, this is a localized issue within the transit center and there is no impact to any adjacent properties. Additionally, our current analysis shows that this is contained within the Fremont Street area. The safety of everyone who visits the Salesforce Transit Center is our highest priority and we will work expeditiously to address and rectify this situation."

Meanwhile, not far away from the Transit Center, another sizable, troubled San Francisco building struggles to stay structurally sound: the sinking Millennium Tower risks getting yellow-tagged by the city if its newly appeared cracks aren't being addressed.

Contractors of collapsed Miami bridge fined for worker-safety violations

2018-09-21T13:29:00-04:00

The contractors who designed and built the disastrous Florida International University bridge have been cited by federal authorities for several “serious” worker-safety violations and face tens of thousands of dollars in fines. [...] The FIU pedestrian bridge collapsed March 15 while it was still under construction over Southwest Eighth Street, killing five motorists below and a worker, Navaro Brown, who had been standing atop the span.

This round of OSHA citations is likely only the beginning of legal actions resulting from the deadly collapse of the new Florida International University pedestrian bridge in March 2018. Investigations of the National Transportation Safety Board are ongoing and, depending on its findings, could lead to a criminal case.

A new crack appears in San Francisco's sinking Millennium Tower

2018-09-10T16:32:00-04:00

A large crack formed in a window at the sinking and tilting Millennium Tower over the Labor Day weekend, prompting officials there to block off part of the sidewalk on Mission Street as a precaution, NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit has learned. City inspectors issued a notice of violation on Tuesday, giving the Millennium management 72 hours to report back on the extent of the problem and the soundness of the building’s façade in light of the failure.

The latest safety concern over San Francisco's sinking Millennium Tower occurred Labor Day weekend when residents heard creaking sounds followed by a loud popping noise in the building. Soon after the incident a resident living on the 36th floor found a crack in his window. The high rise is currently tilting about 18 inches when measured at the top.

Lawsuit over reports on FIU bridge collapse declared confidential

2018-05-03T16:53:00-04:00

Nearly two months after a brand-new South Florida bridge collapsed onto a busy roadway — killing six people — the Florida Department of Transportation is still refusing to release documents that could shed light on the tragic accident. Now, the Miami Herald is taking the state to court. On Wednesday, the Herald filed suit against FDOT in Tallahassee's Leon County Circuit Court to compel the release of emails, meeting minutes and other records relating to the bridge's design and construction.

Just days before the FIU bridge collapsed, cracks had been observed on the structure. A meeting was held by the university and the FDOT the morning of the collapse on whether these cracks were a safety risk. The Miami Herald requested records from that meeting and other documents, which have been deemed confidential by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Chinese glass-bottom walkway cracks below tourists – 3,540 feet above ground

2015-10-07T14:00:00-04:00

A section of a new glass-bottomed walkway at Yuntai Mountain Geological Park in Henan Province, China, cracked at around 5 p.m. Monday afternoon, causing the tourists on it to understandably freak out. [...] The walkway is suspended at a height of about 1,080 meters, or 3,543 feet. [...] Glass walkways and bridges have become extremely popular in China: The walkway at Yuntai opened on Sept. 20, and just days later a 900-foot glass suspension bridge opened in Yunnan province.

"A spokesperson for the Yuntai Mountain tourism bureau told People's Daily Online that the cracks occurred after a tourist dropped a stainless steel mug on the walkway."

Related on Archinect:

Glass Cracks Below Tourists in Chicago Skydeck

2014-05-29T13:30:00-04:00

In what could have been a nightmare come true, part of the glass floor in a viewing box high above Chicago cracked right below a group of California tourists. [...] Alejandro Garibay and his family were taking in the sights at Chicago's Willis Tower on Wednesday night. The tower's Skydeck, which opened in 2009, is on the 103rd floor, about 1,353 feet above Chicago's downtown. [...] While on the glass, Garibay heard cracking.