By Greg Sandoval From Business Insider
- Just weeks after it opened, San Francisco’s $2.2 billionTransbay Transit Center was abruptly closed on Tuesday.
- A fissure was discovered in one of the building’s steel beams.
- According to a statement from the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, the beam was located in the ceiling of the third-level Bus Deck the closure is “out of an abundance of caution” as officials investigate.
Just weeks after it opened, the $2.2 billion San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Center was abruptly closed on Tuesday. A major crack was discovered in one of the building’s steel support beams.
According to a statement from the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, the beam was located in the ceiling of the third-level Bus Deck, and the decision to close was made “out of an abundance of caution,” as engineers inspect other beams and work to repair the problem.
The Bus Deck is above the ground level. The structure’s two other levels are below-ground floors that were designed for rail lines but aren’t yet in use.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the beam is among many that support the rooftop garden.
Sitting on top of the transit center is a 5.4-acre park space that includes foliage, and numerous seating areas.
Firemen were on the scene and an officer of the San Francisco Police Department told Business Insider the building was being evacuated. Police were not allowing anyone near the four-block-long structure.
At least two of the city’s major traffic arteries were closed, including Fremont and Beal streets between Mission and Howard.
Transit agencies, including Muni and WestCAT were redirecting routes to the temporary Transbay Terminal some blocks away. As of 6:58 p.m., area traffic was backed up.
The Terminal Center, described as the “Grand Central Station of the West,” was a building project nearly two decades in the making. The Center was designed to be a central nexus for local transportation.
Eleven bus lines stop at the station, and transit officials plan to eventually connect it to rail lines.
The crack was discovered on the day that Salesforce, which bought the naming rights to the transit center, launched its annual Dreamforce conference. Last year, 171,000 people registered to attend.
By Greg Sandoval From Business Insider
Katie Canales/Business Insider
Greg Sandoval/Business Insider
Greg Sandoval/Business Insider
Greg Sandoval/Business Insider
Greg Sandoval/Business Insider
Greg Sandoval/Business Insider
Greg Sandoval/Business Insider
