EVERETT – Water carrying a corrosive mineral has leaked from Snohomish County’s new underground parking garage and damaged the paint on at least 25 vehicles.
Drivers have filed claims against the county for an estimated $15,000 in repairs, ranging from $25 to $3,000 apiece, in the two years since the garage was built. The county has been trying to plug the leaks, and more repairs are planned, officials said.
The 61/2-floor underground garage serves the Everett Events Center and county government buildings. Tens of thousands of cars park there each year.
The garage was built by Mortenson Co., a national contractor with offices in Bellevue. Mortenson also built the county’s new $175 million campus in Everett.
The 1,200-space garage opened in March 2004. It was supposed to have a tight roof to keep rainwater out, but as the concrete cured, cracks developed on the car decks, said Owen Carter, acting facilities director and county engineer.
Water from rain or snow that vehicles brought in found its way through those cracks, he said. The water picked up a corrosive mineral, possibly lime, and dripped onto vehicles below.
According to the claims, the drips caused white spots and streaks on vehicle paint. Most of the damage has occurred in the wet winter months, according to the dates cited in the claims.
A wave of 12 claims cited damage to vehicles in January 2005, and more drivers reported damage through May 2005 – well past snow season. Six more people claimed damage from January through March of this year.
The county is paying the claims as they come up, but who is ultimately responsible is under discussion, said Diane Weber in the county’s risk management office.
Cracks and water problems in the garage were acknowledged in a November 2004 county campus construction newsletter, and sealant was cited as a solution for some of the cracks.
More repairs were made early this year, Carter said.
Mortenson has repaired only broken seals where rainwater has leaked on the eastern wall of the garage, said Alan Kelm, deputy facilities director.
“We’ve corrected the majority of all the leaks in the garage,” Carter said. “We still have some little cracks inside the garage, in the parking stalls. Where we’ve had drips, we’ve blocked those stalls where the drips are at.”
Kelm said the county is in charge of sealing other cracks caused by concrete curing, and 17 more cracks likely will be sealed this summer before wet weather returns.
“We’re going to continue monitoring,” Carter said. “If we do have a problem, the parking staff are putting up cones and blocking stalls off where water would leak.”
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
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