New Tilting Prompts Revamp of San Francisco's Millennium Tower Fix

NBC Bay Area ^ | 15 jULY | Jaxon Van Derbeken

[DUMBGRUNT]

The $100 million retrofit project – partially paid for by taxpayers as part of a resolution of litigation – was supposed to keep the building from sinking and tilting more and stabilize property values. But since work began on installing support piles in May of last year, the problems have gotten worse, not better. To stem the damage, engineers opted to cut the number of new foundation support piles from 52 to 18.

...As it stands, with the additional tilting since work on the underground wall along Fremont started in May, the tower is now leaning at least 29 inches at the top at the northwest corner.

That leaves a shrinking margin for error, given Hamburger’s caution that the tower’s safety systems -- like elevators and sewage lines -- could stop working should the tower lean 40 inches or more.

[dfwgator]

[The people have spoken]

How are the taxpayer responsible for this building tilting.

Because city building inspectors approved the flawed plan (not digging down to bedrock)?

[free_life]

I see, thank you.

[AnAmericanMother]

That whole side of the bay is dredged fill, never compacted properly.

I'm not sure they can *get* to bedrock there. Absolutely idiotic place to build a tower in the first place.

[griffin]

Wasnt that in Idiocracy?

[griffin]

YES

[Sarcazmo]

XD XD it might have been... I get a lot of my material from that movie.

It was prescient.

[Celtic Conservative]

They failed to sink pilings down to bedrock in an area known to have used infill. Stupidity squared.

CC