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Sussex Prepares to Fix Crumbling
Parking Garage
$434,000
Slated for Judicial Complex Structure
Author:
Fred J. Aun
Star-Ledger Staff
Published on November 05, 1999
February 14, 2005
It will cost Sussex County about $434,000 to repair
the county judicial complex's disintegrating parking garage in
Newton, even though the $2.5 million structure is only about 7
years old, officials said yesterday.
The county set aside the funds over the past two
years, anticipating the work, and is gearing up to spend the money,
Sussex County Administrator Carmine Marchionda said. It did not
take long for problems to emerge at the parking structure off
High Street.
In 1995, less than three years after the three-tier
structure received a certificate of occupancy, chunks of concrete
- including a 25-pound slab - began falling from failing support
columns.
Some of the concrete on the structure is deteriorated
from the effects of calcium chloride, applied to melt ice, that
seeped into poorly designed joints, Sussex County Director of
Facilities Management Joseph Biuso said.
He said there are places where you can scoop up
portions of the disintegrated concrete with bare hands. Wondering
about the extent of the structure's obvious problems, the county
freeholders last year hired Cowley Engineering, a structural and
forensic engineering company from Bedford, N.Y., to conduct an
inspection.
"They went in, did a very nice job and quantified
all the problems in the facility, the design defects, construction
defects, deficiencies by poor maintenance, actions required, costs
for repair and long- term maintenance recommendations and costs,
II Biuso said.
Repairs were made to the garage over the years,
and Biuso said it is not about to collapse. However, he said fixing
the structure will be a major undertaking that will create "a
big disruption" since sections will be closed during the work.
Neither Marchionda nor Biuso knew when the work
will begin. - Marchionda said Sussex County Counsel Dennis McConnell
is studying the case to see whether the county should take legal
action against Prismatic Development Corp., the Fairfield contractor
for the judicial complex and garage, or any other company involved
in the construction.
A man who answered the phone late yesterday at Prismatic,
but declined to give his name, said nobody was available to discuss
the situation. However, he said the garage was built by a subcontractor
from Virginia whose work was approved by the county.
Repairing the structure is only the beginning, according
to the Cowley report. The document warns the county that it must
treat the garage with care.
"During snow removal, care should be taken not to
damage the decks and sealer with snowplows or other equipment,"
the report said. "Also, axle weights for snow removal equipment
should not exceed 4,000 pounds. A snowplow blade must not be allowed
to touch the concrete deck surface, sealants, toppings or joints."
The report notes a "heavy rubber blade edge" can
be mounted to the snowplow blade, but even that should be kept
about a half-inch off the surface during snow removal.
Content © 1999 The Star-Ledger.
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