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Report: Beam Connections To Blame For Collapse Of TIA Parking Canopy

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TBO.com

Published: March 2, 2009

January's collapse of a canopy in Tampa International Airport's parking garage was likely caused by the failure of a steel beam's connections to handle movement caused by temperature changes, an engineering firm has reported.

Walker Restoration Consultants said in a report released today that sections of the garage's second level can move a quarter of an inch to three-eighths of an inch during fluctuations in temperature. The framing of the canopy, built in 2002, "was not designed to accommodate any movement," but did so nonetheless for years, the firm's report said.

"Eventually the connection at the column fractured," the report said.

The 50-by-150-foot portion of the canopy that shielded rental cars in an atrium-like area on the ground floor of the long-term garage collapsed on Jan. 26, heavily damaging three rental cars. No one was injured.

Because the canopy is an add-on and not part of the garage's structure, officials have said the collapse did not compromise the safety of the nine-story garage.

Walker Restoration estimated it would cost about $300,000 in construction costs and take two months to replace the collapsed portion of the canopy and modify the connections of the portion that did not collapse. That would be in addition to charges for demolition, which airport officials have estimated at $112,000, design fees and other costs.

Airport officials say they are still waiting for a detailed report by Creative Contractors Inc., the Clearwater company that designed and built the canopy. The company has agreed to pay for restoring the canopy.

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