By Paige Gance
A large chunk of concrete facade plummeted from the top of the Rockbridge County Courthouse, landing on a patio on an otherwise peaceful Sunday morning in Lexington.
Security cameras captured the impact and falling debris at 8:12 a.m. Oct. 2. No one was hurt.
Bob Claytor, Rockbridge County administrator, estimated that 25 to 30 feet of concrete broke off the backside of the building, which opened in early 2009.
As a precaution, the sidewalk around the courthouse has been closed and the front entrance is shielded by scaffolding. These safety measures will remain in place until authorities are sure the remaining facade is sound, said building inspector Steve Paulk.
Rooftop inspections of the entire facade did not raise any red flags, said Craig Floyd, president of Branch and Associates, the general contractor for the building. He said another collapse was unlikely.
The firm is in “fact-gathering mode,” said Floyd. His company has contacted the subcontractor responsible for the facade and a consulting engineer. He said an inspector has not been hired yet to examine the building.
Floyd said McDaniel Contractor Services, of Elkton, built the facade, including the portion that fell. Tom Higgins, engineering consultant for the county, said the material used in the project, known as Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC), was manufactured in Canada.
Higgins said the steel pins used to support the facade failed to hold that portion of the structure. Further investigation is needed to confirm the integrity of the remaining pins, he said. If compromised, the entire facade, which wraps around the building, might need to be replaced, he said.
A passerby, Rockbridge County resident Peter R. Furmick, said that the company that built the courthouse should be held accountable. “My taxes paid for this,” he said. “I hope the county has an extended warranty.”
Branch and Associates intends to find out what went wrong and take care of the problem, said Floyd. “We stand behind our building.”
He said the cost of fixing the structure depends on the cause of the collapse. It could range from a few thousand dollars to replace the broken parts to a more significant figure if the problem is widespread, said Floyd.
The nearly three-year-old building has weathered snowstorms, wind and a minor earthquake without incident, he said. “It’s a mystery right now.”