2nd crack found at SF Transbay transit center – to stay closed next week

Transbay's new transit center, Transbay, will remain closed until at least the end of next week, transport officials said Wednesday after a second cracked steel beam was discovered during an inspection. security.

The $ 2.2 billion hub for buses and possibly trains, which opened last month, was abruptly closed on Tuesday afternoon. Workers installing ceiling slabs on the third floor saw a six and a half-foot beam on Fremont Street.

The authorities of Transbay Joint Powers, who built and operated the transit center, did not know the cause of the initial crack or the cause of the second crack, described as being in an adjacent and less severe beam. But they worried about the potential failure of both.

Fremont Street between Mission and Howard Streets, which passes under the center, will remain closed until at least the end of next week.

Mark Zabaneh, executive director of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, said on Wednesday that the problem was isolated at the two beams above Fremont Street. But inspectors were planning to evaluate dozens of structural beams to make sure there were no other defects.

"The beam is cracked, so beam behavior is unpredictable," said Zabaneh. "It's a safety issue, and we take it seriously and we can not take any chances."

Municipal authorities advised motorists to avoid the city center because traffic should be accompanied by the closure of the transit center and Fremont Street. This week's Dreamforce conference, hosted by the Salesforce technician, is also helping congestion in the region – 170,000 people are participating.

The AC Transit, SamTrans and Muni buses serving the transit center resumed their use of the Transbay temporary terminal on Howard and Main Streets, where they were operated during the construction of the new building.

US-made steel in the cracked beam was produced as part of a $ 189 million contract between Skanska USA of New York and the Transbay Joint Powers Authority. The beam was made of Herrick steel in the central valley, said Zabaneh.

The pillar is one of the more than 22,000 tonnes of steel that make up the skeleton of the building, according to the construction documents.

While officials provided little information on the crack, Zabaneh said it was close to a weld, which construction experts told The Chronicle may create stress or stress. imperfections in the steel. If the steel turns out to be solid, the experts said that there could simply be too much weight on the beam.

The mayor of San Francisco, London Breed, has pledged Wednesday to solve the problem as quickly as possible.

"The Transbay transit center is too important for our city and our regional transportation system to not react quickly to get definitive answers to the public, and a person must be held accountable once the cause is determined," he said. she said.

The transit center is next to Millennium Tower, a 58-storey residential complex that also encountered construction problems when surveyors learned that it had sunk 18 inches since it opened in 2009. transport linked.

The cracked beam was not the first problem for the transport center, an imposing structure with a lace facade and spacious, well-lit indoor fireplaces, and officially known as the Salesforce Transit Center. . The walkway that goes around the park on the roof has recently begun to collapse. The center and the park have been open since August 12th.

The publicly funded building has been under construction for nearly two decades and was inaugurated in 2010. Considered as the 'Great Central Station West', its full potential will not be realized before connections scheduled with Caltrain and high-speed rail service. are made. It could take a decade or more before these links are completed.