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FILE: Mike Eshleman, with AC Transit, keeps people out of the Salesforce Transit Center after it's closed.
(AP)
There is now a second support beam with a crack.
San Francisco officials worked on Wednesday to find the source of cracks in two supporting beams that closed a recently opened $ 2 billion transit center, supposed to symbolize the city's reputation for innovation.
Nicknamed the "Grand Central of the West," the transit terminal opened in late August in the South Market district after nearly a decade of construction and a budget exceeding $ 6 million.
I find it disappointing but also fun because they built it really big, they spent a lot of money. I have the impression that the money should have been used for many other things.
Julianna Cheng, 32, who lives in the neighborhood, burst out laughing when asked what was going on.
"I find it disappointing but also fun because they built it really big, they spent a lot of money," Cheng said. "I think the money should have been used for a lot of other things."
"I do not know, maybe that's a sign," she says.
Workers doing maintenance on Tuesday morning found the first crack on a steel beam that held the park on the roof of the transit center. A second, smaller crack was discovered later in the day on a parallel beam.
The engineers decided to close the terminal around 17h. just as rush-hour traffic had begun.
"We are working hard to rectify the situation," said Mark Zabaneh, executive director of Transbay Joint Powers Authority, which operates the hub. "We are very disappointed with what happened, we will get to the bottom of things."
Photographs showing a cracked steel beam found in the Salesforce transit center are displayed at a press conference.
(AP)
The steel, which was sourced from Herrick Corp, based in Stockton, seemed well installed when they were installed in January 2016, Zabeneh said. Engineer David Friedman said installing a rooftop garden and other structures above the terminal probably added new stress to the beams.
The closure Zabaneh expects until the end of next week has plunged downtown San Francisco into chaos. Buses were rerouted to a temporary transit center about two blocks from the center's construction. A downtown street that passes under the beam was also closed indefinitely, causing a nightmare of travel.
Salesforce, which opened its 61-storey Salesforce Tower earlier this year, purchased the transit center's naming rights in 2017 under a $ 110 million, 25-year sponsorship deal. The terminal is expected to seat 100,000 passengers every day of the week and up to 45 million people a year.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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