ASCE will be sunsetting the Civil Engineering Database (CEDB) in the coming months. We encourage you to start using the ASCE Library to perform content searches. In the ASCE Library, you can save your search results as well as receive email content alerts when new content relevant to your area of interest is published. Try it out today at https://ascelibrary.org.

 

Case Closed

by Paul G. Swanson, P.E., (M.ASCE), Principal; Facility Engrg. Assocs., P.C., Fairfax, VA,
Thomas W. Larson, P.E., (M.ASCE), Principal; Facility Engrg. Assocs., P.C., Fairfax, VA,


Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 2000, Vol. 70, Issue 6, Pg. 42-45


Document Type: Feature article

Abstract:

In June 1993, a massive sinkhole developed in a surface parking lot of a hotel facility in Georgia. The hole was a result of the soil erosion associated with a failed, 4-meter diameter combined sewer tunnel. Two fatalities occurred with the collapse. The subsequent forensic study uncovered a series of contributing factors, including a disregard for site history during the planning stage of the development, misapplication of a safety net, and a misinterpretation of the signs of impending failure in both the preventative maintenance inspections conducted by the city and forensic studies conducted by consultants immediately prior to the collapse.

Subject Headings: Parking facilities | Forensic engineering | Urban areas | Urban and regional development | Tunnels | Sinkholes | Safety

Services: Buy this book/Buy this article

 

Return to search