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Big Challenges For Boston Commuters Concurrent Work on 2 Iconic Structures: Framingham-based contractor J.F.White, has begun on Boston’s Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge on U.S. Route 1. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation funded $41.6 million project that will extend over the next three construction seasons. The project involves structural steel repairs to the upper and […]
We used to think of structural engineers as behind-the-scenes workers. Their sturdy foundation and framework designs for new buildings were mostly hidden by architectural design. But those days are over. In many communities within California quake zones, structural engineers now lead efforts to quickly make …
In the summer of 2016, citizens of Los Angeles got a wake-up call about the silent danger threatening their community. Thomas Jordan, Director of the Southern California Earthquake Center, reminded them that earthquake preparedness could not wait. His research revealed strong indications that fault conditions were poised for a big one.
In the next five years, at least 13,000 Los Angeles city property owners face an immediate challenge to retrofit or demolish their soft-story buildings thanks to city ordinance 183893. As neighboring communities follow LA’s lead with similar requirements, industry experts believe 10,000 more soft-story buildings will need retrofits during the same time.
After decades of indifference to the risk, Los Angeles city leaders passed ordinance 183893 in October, 2015. It requires building owners to perform seismic retrofits on their residential and commercial soft-story properties.