Millennium Tower Quake Safety Questions Linger Despite New Building Support

San Francisco’s leaning Millennium Tower is now partly supported to bedrock as part of a “seismic upgrade,” but experts tell NBC Bay Area that questions remain about how well the newly bolstered tower will stand up in a quake. Jaxon Van Derbeken reports.

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[michaelmarks]

In some distant day, when I have completely forgotten about this entire thing, I will see on the news that the long-awaited 8.0 earthquake has hit SF and the Millennium Tower has collapsed, killing a couple of thousand people and damaging three or four other buildings so badly that they now must be torn down. I will wonder to myself, "I wonder whatever happened to that engineer guy and all the city council people that allowed this." No doubt, the answer will be that they enjoyed a long, rich and wealthy retirement, and then died safely in their beds, warm and at peace, surrounded by their loved ones, not having though about the MT in years. After all, nothing more could have been done, right?

[nz]

At this point, why would anyone trust what the Architect, City or the Construction Firm says about the repairs to the structure?

[TheLIRRFrenchie...]

Guys take the L, and just tear it down!! I'd rather the city do that and deal with the embarrassment rather than people die.

[mrcpaddler]

The problem with friction piles is that they lose their friction as soon as an earthquake hits. Where you have a structure with a significant load, it is always better to go down to bedrock - or engineer a foundation system that extends beyond the structure footprint.

[averyvaliant]

I wonder just how much the lean is felt on the upper floors, at 29 inches, that's a massive lean.
I'm amazed they haven't knocked it down and rebuilt it.

[johnlozowski]

Once you bring in experts with British accents to evaluate the problem. You know this thing is screwed up beyond any reasonable fix!

[ropro]

Isn't the entire financial district in the liquifaction zone anyway?

[randyosborne]

If they wait to long. No demolition company will take on the job because it is leaning to far to dismantle safely.

[GungaLaGunga]

What happens to 'friction piles' when the soil liquifies in the next earth quake???

[overseerofyahweh]

Even with the repairs, they are trying to cut cost.
It's unbelievable in a "first world nation"

[christophermyers]

One moderate quake... and down she goes, taking about a thousand people with her!

RIP to the condo tenants, the nearby SalesForce office workers, Transbay commuters, UPS/FEDEX/Amazon delivery people, street vendors, school bus with students, out of town tourists, and the homeless, who will all be CRUSHED AND KILLED at any time! 🥺🙏

Guess the CITY is willing to risk it all and not face reality? Or responsibilities?

Pathetic... 😔

[OofusTwillip]

I can't help thinking of Stockton Rush's cheap submersible, and his refusals to listen to industry experts who warned him his "brilliant" engineering would kill somebody.

[stanharry]

They should just take the building down and save on future lawsuits..

[carmentorres]

It would've been cheaper to buy a one level ranch house in the suburbs and safer in case of an earthquake

[lesliepropheter]

Interesting how the old bus terminal on Fremont St. That was rebuilt as the Salesforce Transit Center was allowed to get a rebuild around this Millennium Tower. Wasn’t Fremont street the place where “cracks in the critical support beams holding up the structure overhead” were found? 2.2 billion$ transit center based on an article published Oct 15, 2018 Can you please report on this coincidence and who was Mayor at the time?

[eleventy-seven]

According to a structural engineer, the three boxes that anchors the piling to the slab have a flaw in a metal anchor plate that is loaded to twice it's capacity. ! million pounds of force on the two pieces of metal that will anchor four rods to concrete. It will fail. The building will not topple but once it leans 40" sewage stops game over. It's at 29" and counting.

[theboyboy]

It will go down regardless of what they put😂

[douginorlando]

People know about liquefaction under the foundation during an earth quake. But nobody actually tested how liquefaction changes when under a plate pressing down weighing thousands of tons. Does liquefaction begin with less shaking? And if liquifaction begins, does the liquified soil squirt out in seconds due to thousands of tons squeezing it?

[mateotincopa]

how could they approve a skyscraper like this without foundations on bedrock? especially in SF!!!

[christopersambeli]

that is why you dont buy condo in an earthquake prone area