A Plan to Fix the Leaning Tower of San Francisco

J.K. Dineen reports: "Independent experts charged with reviewing the proposed $100 million fix to San Francisco’s famously sinking and tilting Millennium Tower endorsed the plan Tuesday, saying that they 'see no reason to withhold approval of the building permit for the structural upgrade of the foundation.'"

The work would require "52 piles to be drilled 250 feet down into bedrock to shore up the building," according to Dineen. "The 2-foot-thick circular steel piles would be filled with steel reinforced concrete."

"The 52 new piles will extend into bedrock beneath the soils and will be structurally connected to the existing foundation by an extension of the building’s concrete mat," adds Dineen.

The work is necessary because the building is leaning 17 inches to the north and west. The building isn't the only structure in the quickly expanding neighborhood to encounter high-profile construction woes. The nearby Transbay Terminal was shut down for most of the year after cracks were discovered in structural beams a few months after opening.