Glendale Wisconsin Partial Parking Garage Collapse 1

[Aesur]

There has been some recent discussion for snow load increases in the upcoming codes, here is another recent failure that may have been related to snow loading.

Video

Article

More information

 

[EdStainless]

Our last snow fall here was actually about 2" of slush and ice.
A stack of that would weigh a bit more than just snow.

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P.E. Metallurgy, consulting work welcomed

 

[JStephen]

"WISN 12 News also obtained surveillance video from before the collapse. It shows plow crews on the top floor of the garage pushing snow to the area that would later collapse."- from the third link above.

 

[spsalso]

There's just something about a parking deck that makes it look like it could hold anything. Remember that collapse in Canada awhile ago?

https://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=496789

It's just so easy to think of it as "the ground".


spsalso

 

[phamENG]

Glad that Subaru decided not go go straight...

 

[JLNJ]

Proudly designed with very tight margins right up to the limits of the code, I'm sure.

 

[bones206]

Surveillance video before the collapse. Bobcat was piling snow into one spot.

 

[JohnRBaker]

And from the looks of it, right over the longest unsupported span in the building.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[phamENG]

And from the looks of it, right over the longest unsupported span in the building.

Yeah, but I bet they went and jumped on it and said "yep! strong enough!". Everyone knows jumping on something or pushing on it with your hand is a sure sign of a structure's ability to withstand the most severe forces that can be thrown at it.

 

[bones206]

I was listening to a radio talk show a few weeks ago and the hosts were disturbed by intermittent episodes of the building shaking and swaying. They thought it was an earthquake. Turns out it was a snow plow clearing the parking garage on the lower levels. They speculated whether the building was designed for that kind of impact loading. I was thinking to myself, nope most definitely was not!

 

[Sym P. le]

Precast Double Tee panels. It looks like two panels secumed to the snow load. We still have work to do to ensure safe work protocols on elevated structures. It's not like this hasn't happened before.

"Hello, OSHA .... ?"

 

[bones206]

This discussion touched on the subject of snow management and dealing with higher loads on parking decks: thread507-305878

Maybe some kind of code-mandated snow management plan for parking garage designs is warranted. I’m not sure; I don’t design parking garages. But it should probably at least be a discussion in the code circles, since relying on common sense is by definition not a foolproof approach.

 

[TigerGuy]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I speculate that pile of snow is much less than full vehicle loads. Most parking structures I've ever seen have designated areas adjacent to them to dump the snow. It's actually labeled as snow area.

 

[JLNJ]

@ TigerGuy

Cars don't weigh as much as you think. A pile of snow can easily exceed the design loads for a parking garage. Parking garage loads are skinny!

JLNJ editorial comment: I think this is a weak point in the code.

 

[MJCronin]

The parking garage architect bears reponsibility here ... There should have been warning signs !!!


MJCronin
Sr. Process Engineer

 

[bones206]

A related article:

https://www.structuremag.org/?p=11558

 

[SWComposites]

TG - have you ever shoveled wet saturated compacted snow? it can be VERY heavy, much greater than normal snow.

 

[EdStainless]

Considering that this was slush and ice it weighed a lot more that cars would have.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
P.E. Metallurgy, consulting work welcomed

 

[JLNJ]

This is a small sign in an at-grade parking structure near me for an (at-grade and below, so no obvious above-grade structure at all). It's at a hospital, no less, where they were constructing a several-hundred-million dollar expansion, yet they had no $$ for a little extra parking lot capacity.

I'm sure all the snowplow and truck drivers see, read and understand this sign. I'm sure they know what 40 psf of snow looks like. I'm sure they know their wheel loads and keep them to under 3000 pounds.

 

[FacEngrPE]

bones206 deserves a handful of stars for finding the link containing the following quote

https://www.structuremag.org/?p=11558[/URL]]The parking garage collapses described in this article are not directly related to any known design, construction, or maintenance deficiencies. Nevertheless, with hindsight, all were preventable. In each instance, it could be argued that there was a failure of imagination. That is, a failure by parking garage designers and owners to imagine the utter lack of common sense among some of those working in and around the garages.

In some - not all of the snow pile failures a snow melting system could help if the drains could be kept unfrozen.