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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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