Project Overview

Whitmore Garage is in a prime location in historic Annapolis and is within walking distance of the Circuit Court, the Arundel Center, and the Maryland State House. It is also a great place to park for downtown restaurants, shopping, festivals, and farmers’ markets.

Recently, exposed reinforcement at the garage and damaged façade were affecting state employees who park there and was a liability to the owner, Anne Arundel County. A significant amount of preplanning, pivoting, and process improvements took place throughout all phases of the repair.

Working together, Ehlert Bryan and STRUCTURAL investigated and developed a solution to perform phased post-tensioning anchor repairs at the expansion joint slab edges and then finish with expansion joint repair and replacements. There were existing column defects and post-tension slabs in conjunction with meeting code requirements for a total number and proper spacing of barrier cables. The team determined that the best solution was to move forward with a column-mounted barrier cable system.

As an occupied construction project, care and attention are being taken regarding safety considering the high level of traffic flow from vehicles and patrons in the area. The team has continuous communication with the County on each repair so that capacity can be determined, and appropriate temporary closures can take place.

Prior to each concrete placement date, STRUCTURAL coordinates with Ehlert Bryan to perform pre-pour site inspections, signoffs, and reporting. Controlling dust and carbon monoxide are two consistent areas of focus when working in enclosed repair phases. The team is using proper ventilation metrics such as fans to ensure that there is proper airflow in construction areas.

To date, concrete repairs, monostrand PT repairs, and form and pump partial depth PT beam repairs to all lower level and level 1 areas have been completed. The team is currently working to repair and replace the barrier cables on the lower level and level 1 areas.