Shoring work to be done on Salesforce Transit Center

Work will begin this weekend to strengthen part of the Salesforce Transit Center that runs through Fremont Street, San Francisco, officials said Saturday Transbay Joint Powers Authority.

Two cracked steel girders were discovered in the transit center earlier this week, which resulted in the closure of part of Fremont Street and the entire center for safety reasons .

The transit center opened just a month ago and is partly used as a regional bus depot. The buses now operate from Transbay's temporary terminal on Howard and Main Streets in San Francisco, where they operated prior to the opening of the transit center.

Officials of the joint powers authority said that a shoring design had been completed on Saturday and that it was being reviewed by an independent body. Materials will arrive Saturday and work will begin Sunday.

A peer review of the permanent repair plan and the entire building will be done at the request of the chairman of the board of authority, Mohammed Nuru, who is also director of public works in San Francisco.

Authority officials stated that a peer review had been conducted as part of the original design process.

The officials did not specify the exact cause of the cracks, but they assumed they could be related to the manufacturing, installation or design of the center.

A web portal was launched Saturday where public and reporters can access peer reviews, design reports, contracts and inspections.

Some documents have been posted and others will be added on an ongoing basis.

Authorized representatives continue to work with Webcor / Obayashi contractor and structural engineers Thornton Tomasetti to solve problems and install a shoring system while waiting for a permanent solution to be created.

Fremont Street and the transit center will be closed at least next week.

Copyright Bay City News