Millenium Tower tilt WORSENS from 22 to 26 inches, 58-story building to sink further
The Millenium Tower in San Francisco now stands with a slant of 26 inches after construction work that was meant to stabilize the structure worsened the existing slant even more.
Reports said recent stabilization work on the building caused the soil underneath it to collapse even more quickly. It was also reported that construction workers had delayed pouring in grout after removing soil from under the building, causing the tilt to worsen.
Structural engineer Ronald O Hamburger has now suggested that the number of support beams be decreased from 52 to 18 to minimize building settlement so workers can continue construction.
The Millenium Tower is a 58 story and 645-foot tall high-end condo tower that was opened in 2009 in the very earthquake-prone city of San Francisco. Till earlier in 2021, the building had been standing with a slant of 22 inches before the construction work increased the slant to 26 inches. In addition to this, the building has also sunk 17 to 18 inches although it was only estimated to sink 5.5 inches by 2028. Engineers however insist that there is no danger of the building collapsing and residents can continue to live in their luxurious apartments. Engineers have also suggested two possible reasons for the rapid slanting and sinking of the building. In a recent letter to the general manager of the building, the engineers stated, "Vibration of the soils associated with pile installation activity, and unintentional removal of excessive soil as the piles were installed."
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NBC Bay Area reported that there had been a one to four-day gap between evacuating loose soil and injecting grout to reduce soil collapse which has played a major role in causing the newfound additional four inches of slant on the building. NBC also reported that the mistake goes against protocol and could negatively affect a lot of things.
The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection has approved the 18-support-beam plan by Hamburger and said it was "satisfied that the associated settlement and tilt remain within safe ranges and support [Hamburger's] proposal to continue the retrofit using the modified installation procedures." The department has also decided to inspect the beams themselves.
The residents of the building were first made aware of the tilt and sinking in 2016 which obviously worried them and gave way to a bunch of lawsuits, one of which resulted in the commencing of the remedial work currently being done to the building.
The concerns about the building gained urgency after the the deadly collapse of the Champlain Towers South more than 3,000 miles away in Surfside, Florida, last year.