(Traffic) nightmare on Elm Street: Potential building collapse closes parts of Davis Square

[unhappycamper]

http://www.metro.us/boston/traffic-nightmare-on-elm-street-potential-building-collapse-closes-parts-of-davis-square/zsJofw---pNc6i5DGipoQ/

http://www.metro.us/_internal/gxml!0/2qijkhn0ctpwx8acoz5fxkpvtmr4nbh$bm8pxpmwd53vrbnk098ch14pgn2mfo4/photo%20%282%29.jpeg

Brace yourselves for a traffic bummer in Somerville.

Traffic nightmare on Elm Street: Potential building collapse closes parts of Davis Square
June 23

If a building almost collapses in Davis Square and there’s no hipster with an adorable waxed mustache wearing jorts and a neon T-shirt promoting kale consumption around to bike passed it on a fixed gear, did it happen? The answer is yes.

Portions of Somerville’s congested crossroads have been closed down after construction at the old Social Security office at 240 Elm St. was deemed unsafe because of a wall that is not attached to the roof framing and is structurally compromised. Until the proper shoring is installed, the wall could collapse at any point, authorities said.

“We did not authorize for masonry removal to proceed on this side of the building prior to shoring and feel that it currently presents a dangerous condition,” Roome and Guarracino LLC Structural Engineer Jason Ferris said in a press release. “Along this wall, between the steel beam bearing piers, the masonry has been taken down below the roof framing level and no longer engages the wall with the roof diaphragm. Not only does this result in an unstable wall condition, it also results in weakening the stabilization of the piers supporting the steel girders.”

Engineers from Roome and Guarracino LLC, hired by the building owner, found that three tower legs on the first floor of the construction project were missing. Without those lower legs, the weight of the building can’t be properly dispersed and make its way down to the foundation.

[arendt]

1. Rec'd just for the slam on hipsters!

If a building almost collapses in Davis Square and there’s no hipster with an adorable waxed mustache wearing jorts and a neon T-shirt promoting kale consumption around to bike passed it on a fixed gear, did it happen? The answer is yes.

Hipsters are the most pathetic, overly self-conscious wannabees I have ever seen. You can't make dorky cool by giving it a new name.

Thanks for the laugh.