Court House Cautious After Concrete Crumbles General Services Administration Hires Consultant To Study Building’s Window Ledges

People who think the federal government is coming apart at its seams need to look no further than Riverside and Monroe.

There, chunks of pre-cast concrete ledges - known as scuppers - are falling from the U.S. Court House.

No one was hit last week when one large chunk fell from the eighth floor and crashed onto the concrete plaza near the southeast corner of the building.

Startled federal bureaucrats were quick to react.

They erected temporary fences and hired a Spokane engineering firm for $2,320 to “study the problem.”

Staff workers for the General Services Administration in the courthouse were ordered not to talk about the problem.

They directed inquiries Friday to GSA headquarters in Auburn, Wash.

Meanwhile, engineering consultant David Helsing showed up with a 60-power spotting scope to study the problem from the sidewalk on Riverside.

“I’ll be using the scope to look at each of the 200 window ledges, to check for cracks,” Helsing said with a sigh. “It’s going to take a while.”

He scribbled notes on an architectural drawing of the building.

The job of putting the four sides of the federal building under microscopic scrutiny will last into next week, he said.

Then the GSA will will hire a contractor to remove the loose concrete sills.

In the meantime, a temporary covered walkway entrance will be erected this weekend to protect government workers and others who use the building.