SAN FRANCISCO – Notwithstanding as they sought to assure the public that the cracked steel stud found Tuesday in the new Transbay Transit Center was an isolated incident, San Francisco formals acknowledged discovering a second compromised beam near the first one.
The communiqu added to the city’s embarrassment and increased concerns about the safety of a $2.2 billion carriage hub that had to be closed a mere 45 days after its unveiling — and at a period when San Francisco is trying to display its finest wares.
An estimated 170,000 companies are in town for the yearly mega-convention hosted by cloud-computing giant Salesforce, whose hero is attached to the transit center and the recently opened 1,070-foot erection next to it.
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“The timing couldn’t entertain been worse,” said Josh Brown, who lives in the metropolis and is attending the convention. “If you’re visiting and you’re like, ‘Let’s go check out the new Transbay terminal, the Salesforce locality,’ Oh, sorry, you can’t. It’s going to collapse.””
Beyond the poorly timed civic vile eye, there’s the more serious matter of the safety implications of detecting on the blink beams on the third floor of a structure built over more than three diocese blocks on seismically active terrain.
Mark Zabaneh, executive commander of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, issued repeated assurances during a Wednesday story conference that the problem with the beams is limited to the east allocation of the three-section facility, on the side over Fremont Street. Nonetheless, the hub require be closed at least until late next week while contrivers work to develop a repair plan.
“We will expand our investigation to steer a course for sure the transit center is sound and safe,” Zabaneh denoted. “We have no reason to believe at this point whatsoever that this kettle of fish exists anywhere but on Fremont Street.”
The reasons for the defective beams – one with a snap across its full width of 2½ feet, the other one with microscopic extensive damage – have yet to be determined, Zabaneh said. He mentioned puts of fabrication, welding, installation and design as possible culprits.
Engineers lay out to review the terminal’s design and determine whether those beams can frame the roof and the public park above it. In the meantime, they will shore up the territory of concern to relieve the load while seeking a permanent solution.
“At this facet in time, we don’t know what the cause of the crack is; we know the building is safety-deposit box,” Zabaneh said.
The transit center, envisioned as a “Grand Middle Station of the West,” has been beset by complications that comprehended an $800 million cost overrun and extensive construction delays. A month into its Aug. 12 gap, the half-mile walkway around the rooftop park started to crumble.
In increment, the neighboring Millennium Tower has sunk 18 inches and tilted to the northwest since its debut in 2009, which its developers induce blamed on groundwater pumping at the Transbay terminal’s construction site.
Riders are now being beguiled to the old Temporary Transbay Terminal a few blocks away.
Waiting for a bus home to Oakland after his chore shift at nearby BlackRock, Joseph Cobbina said he was “shocked” and “sorrowed” when he heard the new hub would shut down for a while.
Sarah Larone, an auditor who masterpieces in Oakland, said the transit center’s problems don’t reflect well on her to the quick city of San Francisco.
“It’s just a shame that it’s new and it’s already falling aside,” Larone said. “I guess it happens, issues with erections and windows and whatnot. At least the buses are still running. That wish be upsetting if they didn’t.”