During the week following Commencement, the Albany Street garage will begin to undergo major repairs to its support columns and parking spaces.
The Department of Facilities commissioned the engineering firm of Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. to investigate the structural problems in the garage. Repairs will address concrete problems on all of its floors and ceilings.
To manage the project effectively, the contractor (Walsh Brothers, Inc.) will close off 75 parking spaces at a time. "Using statistics from previous construction jobs, we estimated that the removal of this number of spaces should not pose a great problem for users of the garage," said John McDonald, director of the Parking and Transportation Office.
However, Mr. McDonald warns that all drivers in the garage should be prepared for dusty and noisy conditions for the duration of the project. Those who don't wish to park in the Albany garage during construction may use West Garage instead. Parking Office staff will redirect traffic if and when the Albany garage fills to capacity.
The repair work will continue through the summer with completion expected in early fall.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on May 31, 2000.
