Manatee County Parking Garage Replacement Planned
(June 14, 2022)Ā āĀ After recent engineering investigations revealed structural concerns in the County Parking Structure, Manatee County officials are taking action to mitigate risk while continuing to keep employees and citizens safe.
āThe garage is safe to park in,ā said County Administrator Scott Hopes. āThe engineering studies have confirmed that.ā
But those studies also confirmed that the concrete and steel parking garageābuilt in the late 1980s in a very moist, humid environmentāhas begun to weaken from the inside out.
āThere had perhaps been a period of deferred maintenance,ā he explained.Ā This resulted in water intrusion into the concrete causing the steel to begin to deteriorate. Dr. Hopes went on to say that the issue now is the estimated costs to perform several repairs recommended by the engineering study and how long those repairs will last over the now-limited lifetime of the structure.
āIt would only buy us five to seven years of usable life,ā he said, so the decision to replace the garage with a new oneādesigned to last 50 years or moreāwas made.
āItāll be safe today,ā said County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge.Ā āItāll be safe tomorrow.ā
But he says that by taking decisive actions and acting quickly to put contingencies in placeāall sorts of potential disasters are avoided.Ā
āWe are allocating funds in advance so that even if the situation changes and we have to act quickly, we will have the funds to do it,ā he said
While there is no timeline for demolition or construction, plans and schedules are being formulated, and those details will be shared with employees and other stakeholders as the garage replacement process progresses.Ā
For more information on Manatee County Government, visitĀ mymanatee.orgĀ or call (941) 748-4501.
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