Boston, MA
Museum of Science Parking Garage
Scope/Solutions
The Museum of Science parking garage was built in two phases in the late 1960s and partially spans the Charles River. After thirty years of exposure to weather and vehicles, chlorides from deicing salts permeated the top surface of the concrete slabs. Working for the owner, SGH assessed the condition of the concrete garage and recommended a rehabilitation program to extend the useful life of the structure.
The five-level parking structure has an approximate gross area of 68,000 sq ft per level. The garage is a combination of precast, prestressed concrete elements and cast-in-place, post-tensioned concrete elements. Our services included the following:
- Determined the condition of the garage through a hands-on investigation
- Examined the condition of the concrete
- Evaluated the extent of chloride contamination from deicing salts typically brought into the garage by vehicles
- Identified and prioritized remedial work to repair deterioration, control leakage, and extend the useful life of the garage
- Estimated costs for the remedial work
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Project Summary
1999
Completion Date
Solutions
Repair & Rehabilitation
Services
Structures | Applied Science & Research
Markets
Infrastructure & Transportation
Client(s)
Museum of Science
Specialized Capabilities
Repair & Strengthening | Materials Science
Key team members
Michael Brainerd
Additional Projects
Northeast
John W. Weeks Footbridge
As part of an on-call term contract with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and with additional design funding provided by Harvard University, SGH worked on a two-phase project to repair and upgrade the bridge.
Northeast
Neponset River Bridge
A subsequent engineering study found that the cracks were due to over-stresses in the flexural steel and abrupt termination of flexural steel in a tension zone.