After the collapse of part of the E82 parking deck, a number of Atlanta employees have expressed quite logical concerns about the E81 deck that we are all now using.
I’ve been in contact with the facilities maintenance people at Georgia Tech, and can report the following statements:
- Georgia Tech has always had a rigorous maintenance and evaluation program on all our decks. (As a reminder, E82 is not a Georgia Tech property; we rent space there.)
- E81 (and all other campus decks) have been carefully re-inspected by multiple structural engineering firms after the E82 collapse. These inspectors are familiar with the apparent failure mechanisms in E82.
- The types of connections that failed at the Centergy deck do not exist in any of the GT facilities, specifically including E81.
Analysis of the E82 deck is still ongoing, and most of that information is not yet public. It will be repaired as soon as possible and reopened only after the most thorough inspection and testing imaginable. However, for all of us, I am confident that the E81 parking deck is a safe place to park.
