This is going to be either a feat of engineering genius or historic disaster

[Schism]

I'm not very optimistic.

San Francisco's Millennium Tower ‘Fix' Moves to Ear-Splitting Next Stage

Work began this week on a new phase of the retrofit of the sinking and tilting Millennium Tower – an operation that one critic calls “very risky” because it involves digging and removing tons of supportive dirt on two sides of the already troubled foundation.

Millennium Tower officials notified residents in a memo on Tuesday that construction work was moving into the fourth, and final stage, with digging needed to expand the existing mat foundation that will be supported by new support piles anchored in bedrock. Residents were told to expect “some drilling sounds” as well as vibration associated with the work, which is expected to last through September.

As work on that final stage begins, monitoring data shows the tower is leaning 27 inches to the northwest at the top. Since work started in May, the tower has tilted 10 inches more at the top, according to that monitoring data.

 

[Ginger Ale]

I've seen a show on this and it's terrifying. I'm not sure it will work.

 

[Nickyjo]

I'm not very optimistic.

San Francisco's Millennium Tower ‘Fix' Moves to Ear-Splitting Next Stage

Not sure if this applies to the tower, but a significant amount of property in the SF Bay Area is built on parts of the bay that have been filled in. When I worked on the fifth floor of a downtown SF building, pre-construction excavations across the street that I observed from my window revealed a ship under the building that was torn down to make way for the new one. Local archeologists spent a few days with their little brushes examining the remains. That vessel and others, as the story goes, had been sunk after the migration to SF during the gold rush, since more ships arrived than left. Dirt or whatever was filled in around and over the ships, and structures built on top of them. My impression of the science is that structures built on fill are less stable in case of a quake. If you remember the 1989 SF quake, much damage was done in the area of the city known as the Marina, to houses built on landfill. I don't know if this building is built on fill, but old maps suggest that it is near the line - an extension of Columbus Ave - that defined the expansion of the city into the bay.

Of course it is entirely possible that I don't know what I am talking about here, so take all of this with a grain of salt. I used to be a mini-bus tour guide in SF, and we were known to make up shit from time to time if we didn't know the answer to a question. I use that skill here on occasion.

If you need tourist tips when visiting the SF Bay Area, lemme know. I promise not to lie.

P.S. Here's a site with a couple of maps showing likelihood of "liquefaction." Note the red line that goes from southeast to northwest. That's the (in)famous San Andreas fault. It doesn't actually go through SF, but close counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and quakes.

Bay Area Liquefaction, Landslide, and Seismic Zones – Mapped | the Front Steps | San Francisco & Marin County Real Estate

Lots of talk in the news these days about landfill, liquefaction, and general stability of property in and around San Francisco’s waterfront, and entire city for that matter (see “SF&#8…

thefrontsteps.com

 

[Loulit01]

Italy took the same situation and made a profitable tourist attraction of it.

 

[Nickyjo]

Italy took the same situation and made a profitable tourist attraction of it.

Actually, a little-known fact is that it is not the tower that leans. The residents of Pisa, known for drinking too much wine, actually lean, creating the illusion that has attracted so many tourists.

 

[EdwinWillers]

Actually, a little-known fact is that it is not the tower that leans. The residents of Pisa, known for drinking too much wine, actually lean, creating the illusion that has attracted so many tourists.

This is true - as anyone who's sampled the wine from Pisa will tell you.

 

[EdwinWillers]

I'm not very optimistic.

San Francisco's Millennium Tower ‘Fix' Moves to Ear-Splitting Next Stage

I've been kind of following this off and on - it sure doesn't seem that feasible to me, but something has to be attempted regardless because the ramifications of the building's failure are unthinkable.

What I can't understand is how there are still people living in the building. I suppose most have to, being unable to sell their condos given the circumstances, but man... I don't think I could live there myself, regardless.

 

[Schism]

I've been kind of following this off and on - it sure doesn't seem that feasible to me, but something has to be attempted regardless because the ramifications of the building's failure are unthinkable.

What I can't understand is how there are still people living in the building. I suppose most have to, being unable to sell their condos given the circumstances, but man... I don't think I could live there myself, regardless.

Yeah, I couldn't live in it at this point. I'm just not confident this is going to end well.

How do you jack up a completed building 27 inches? I would not be surprised if the building failed.

It's like watching the The Flying Wallendas tight rope act.

 

[EdwinWillers]

Yeah, I couldn't live in it at this point. I'm just not confident this is going to end well.

How do you jack up a completed building 27 inches? I would not be surprised if the building failed.

It's like watching the The Flying Wallendas tight rope act.

Agreed.

Actually though - the 27 inches is at the top of the building - 27 inches off plumb, or 27" of lean - which is an additional 10 inches of lean since work began to correct the problem. Not sure how that translates to the fix at the foundation though. Lessee - 645 feet high, 27" off plumb.... dang, trigonometry...

After seeing PISA personally and watching all the steps they've taken to correct that structure's lean, and seeing that about all they were able to do was stop it (last I heard anyway), I can't imagine the success of a similar "fix" on this structure.

 

[P_T]

Blow it down, build a great foundation and rebuild. Only way that is intelligent ! There is no such thing as stable bedrock out there, its heading north to Alaska !

Yep they are a waste of time and money. Bad investments, can't be fixed, done here !

 

[P_T]

Only a Complete fool invests in the Costal Areas of California, most of the place really !

The correct answer to the multiple choice test question is;
(f.) Total piece of Crap City areas of the world.