Anxiety soared around campus when word spread that the University’s new $19 million parking decks were built by the same general contractor as the one responsible for the Midtown Atlanta parking deck that came crashing down in June.

Now, 10 days before one of the decks opens for use, two engineering firms have inspected the structures for safety.

Hardin Construction Company, contractor for for the Midtown deck and the University’s two new parking decks, was fined days before the June collapse in connection with the collapse of a pedestrian walkway at the Atlanta Botanical Garden last year.

“My reaction – as an architect – was very surprised,” said campus architect Danny Sniff. “You just don’t see these types of catastrophic failures, especially in the United States.”

The Atlanta-based Hardin Construction Company was selected in 2007 as the general contractor for the two four-level parking decks – one at the Intramural Fields and the second at the Performing Arts Center. Both decks provide about 500 parking spaces and were estimated to cost $19 million as of last February.

When the University learned of Hardin’s connection to the parking deck in Midtown, University President Michael Adams instructed Tim Burgess, senior vice president for finance and administration, to have the parking decks inspected and reviewed by independent structural engineers.

“It was prudent of the University to review the existing decks,” Sniff said. “We were going to do a master plan maintenance anyway – even before the Midtown collapse.”

Hardin agreed to cover all expenses for the review of their construction, and two independent engineering firms were hired to inspect the parking decks.

The first firm was chosen by Hardin and the second – KSi/Structural Engineers of Atlanta – was selected by the University.

“These firms basically do forensic investigations in structures and we went to them [KSi] because of their expertise,” Sniff said. “They’ve done some work for us in the past, but not on parking decks – we didn’t want there to be a conflict of interest.”

KSi/Structural Engineers of Atlanta determined “the design and construction of all the decks are consistent with the standard of practice in the area,” according to an inspection report.

The report stated, “no structural deficiencies that would pose a risk to the public were found. It is our professional opinion that the eight parking decks have been and are suitable for their intended use.”

But what does this actually mean?

Although the two decks are under the same general contractor, they are under different sub-contractors and suppliers than the one in Midtown.

The sub-contractors manufacture and design the parking decks.

Usually, sub-contractors and suppliers are responsible for 85 percent of the entire construction process and the general contractors are only responsible for 15 percent of the construction – such as electricity and fire alarms, Sniff said.

Since both of the parking decks are at different stages in construction, they must meet different criteria and codes, depending on their respective progress.

The deck at the Performing Arts Center is still in the beginning stages of construction, whereas the deck at Intramural Fields is 85 percent completed, Sniff said.

“We had quite an extensive study being done to make sure the decks are safe,” said George Stafford, associate vice president of auxiliary and administration services.

“Read the reports [on the Parking Services Web site] – our decks are built correctly, designed correctly and well-maintained.”

Parking spaces for the Intramural deck will not be assigned to students until the contractors hand over the keys to Parking Services on Aug. 28, Stafford said.

“I think people should know it’s perfectly safe to park in these decks,” Sniff said. “I mean, you have two separate sets of eyes inspecting already.”