Leaning San Francisco Tower Seen Sinking From Space https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/c77c2a...0e59f839/ss_a-58-story-skyscraper-in-san.html Engineers in San Francisco have tunneled underground to try and understand the sinking of the 58-story Millennium Tower. Now comes an analysis from space.
I walk past it all the time. Hasn't fallen on me yet. It is worrisome though, especially for those who own million-dollar+ condos in the building. (That group includes a number of celebrities.) Lots of lawsuits are flying around. The tenants are suing the building's developers. Ironically, so is the city attorney. The allegation is that the piles the building is built upon don't extend all the way down to bedrock. The developers respond that most of the similar buildings in the area have foundations just like theirs (and both the structural engineers and the city approved the design). The irony of the city suing is due to the fact that the developers are counter-suing, claiming that the sinking and tilting is the result of a huge city excavation project adjacent to the site intended to create a rapid transit hub complete with underground tunnels bringing in trains. So they allege that all the city digging next door has compromised their building's foundations. Everyone is issuing assurances that the relatively new and exceedingly tall building is in no danger of toppling, though I'm not sure that I believe these clowns. One wonders whether it will eventually have to be demolished, which will be a big and difficult job. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
If it sinks far enough, will the foundations eventually strike bedrock and stop it? And, if so, how far would that be?