OCTA Closes Parking Garage for Repairs
Several cracks near a support column have prompted the Orange County Transportation Authority to close its downtown park-and-ride garage for repairs and additional inspection, officials said Thursday.
“These are small, minor repairs that we’re talking about,” OCTA spokeswoman Elaine Beno said. “We just wanted to be sure that the building is safe.”
The closing Wednesday displaced between 250 and 300 motorists who regularly use the four-level building next to an OCTA bus terminal near Santa Ana Boulevard and Broadway, Beno said. They have been directed to other city parking facilities until the 14-year-old garage reopens Monday, she said.
About three weeks ago, an OCTA structural engineer on a monthly inspection discovered the cracks and shut down the third floor of the garage, Beno said. After further analysis, Beno said, inspectors determined that the column needed concrete reinforcements.
Officials from OCTA, which owns the building and subleases it to the city, also plan to meet with city authorities to discuss effects on the garage from heavy construction at the new federal courthouse.
“There are a number of heavy-duty trucks going by on the road,” Beno said, “and we were concerned that the vibration they cause affects the stability of the structure.”
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