City-parish officials are hoping for an update Friday on the status of an investigation into the cause of a structural failure at the downtown library, which is under construction at North Boulevard Town Square.
It has been 10 days since four hydraulic jacks were moved in to support the building’s prominent cantilever, and one week since an independent structural engineer hired by the city-parish began working with project manager and architect WHLC Architecture to figure out why the weld on a structural support beam failed and what that means for the future of the $19 million building.
In the days since city-parish officials have not received any new information. But Chief Administrative Officer Darryl Gissel says structural engineers and contractors have been busy, reopening walls in the building and conducting a variety of tests on the support beams.
Shortly after the structural failure was discovered, contractor Buquet & Leblanc blamed a faulty design by WHLC for the problem. But the city-parish has not come to that conclusion and hired its own independent consultant, Exponent, to analyze the problem.
So far, all the three firms, the engineer on the project, SCA, and the inspection agency that was used to test the building materials have remained tight-lipped about the project and their analysis.
A spokeswoman for the city-parish says even if an update is provided Friday, she doesn’t expect to have a timeline or price tag yet for whatever repairs are needed.
