Cal U sues contractor, bond issuer over parking garage it claims was poorly constructed
Falling concrete in Vulcan Garage narrowly missed two students and crushed several parked cars on move-in day in August 2016, prompting California University of Pennsylvania to file suit Thursday in Washington County Court.
Named as defendants were Manheim Corp. of Pittsburgh and its bonding agent, Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. of America, based in Hartford, Conn.
A message left with Manheim requesting comment was not immediately returned.
The $10,480,000 garage, for which the school secured bids in 2009, was completed in August 2010.
The school immediately shut down the parking garage, and a metal pole has been in place to prevent a similar collapse, it asserted in court documents.
Cal U., in the suit, claims it had called for metal to be used to reinforce structural concrete, but Manheim and a subcontractor instead chose what the contractor touted as carbon-fiber that weighed less than metal and wouldn’t corrode in structures known as “double tees.”
The carbon-fiber material would not corrode, but it did not comply with American Concrete Institute specifications and could not withstand the weight of “reasonably anticipated” parked vehicles.
Students and professors are no longer permitted to park in the 660-space Vulcan garage, named for the school’s intercollegiate sports teams’ mascot.
The university claims the structure had flaws in both design and construction, and once concrete fell, it had to ban parking there, lose revenue, and pay to run a shuttle service back and forth between other parking areas.
The university is seeking compensatory damages, according to the complaint signed by Robert Thorn, vice president for administration and finance.
No court date has been set.