Troubled San Francisco Tower Continues To Tilt, Settle

San Francisco’s Millennium Tower, a 58-story residential high rise in the heart of downtown that has been the target of lawsuits over its sinking, tilting foundation, continues to tilt at the rate of 3 in per year, NBC Bay Area reports. During work to remedy the situation in 2021, 10 in. of tilt and 2 in of settlement occurred, according to monitoring data. Without a fix, at the current rate the tower’s lean could reach a 40-in. “functional maximum,” at which point its elevators and plumbing could cease to operate, according to engineer Ron Hamburger, who is overseeing remedial work. During a hearing before city officials on January 6, Hamburger acknowledged that his team did not provide guidance about how to minimize the effects of drilling and digging to the subcontractor installing piles. City Supervisor Aaron Peskin said that is standard operating procedure, adding, “I don’t think there is a lot of room here for on-the-job learning.” Hamburger said installing 18 steel piles to the bedrock is the best way to stop, and possibly reverse some of, the tilting. He said that should be done “as quickly as possible.”