June 3, 2016

Mr. Arden Emerick MCP

Assistant Codes Administrator
Department of Public Safety
City of Harrisburg
The Rev. Martin L. King Jr. City Government Ctr.
10 North Second Street Suite 205
Harrisburg, PA 17101
aemerick@cityofhbg.com
RE:

Post Inspection Visual Structural deficiencies at Wall Collapse Adjacent to the

Mulberry Street Bridge in Harrisburg, PA

Dear Mr. Emerick:

On May 27, 2016 I (Mr. James McLoughlin, P.E.) met you at the reported wall collapse adjacent
to the Mulberry Street Bridge in Harrisburg PA. During the meeting, I was accompanied by an
attorney, Mr. Andrew Connolly from Post & Schell. Per my observations of the area of collapse,
Mr. Connolly contacted you on my behalf to meet me on site to discuss my observations. Neither
I nor Mr. Connolly represent any of the property owners in the area.
During the inspection I informed you of my opinion of the potentially dangerous situation at the
area of collapse. I observed the following:

The collapsed portion of the wall and other debris (including a car) was observed to be
resting on the portion of the building adjacent to the former location of the wall. Per my
understanding, no shoring has been installed at any portions of the building and no attempt
to secure the area of failed or failing roof structure has been made. Observation of the
building complexes indicates that many of the buildings share masonry party walls with
the roof structure pocketing on both sides. It is unclear what the design capacity of the roof
is, however if a further collapse occurs at the areas where debris is still sitting on the roofing
it has potential to collapse other portions of roofing and party walls.

The collapse of the wall has left an exposed soil slope in the area where the wall previously
existed. No attempt to stabilize the slope had been made at the time of this inspection. The
area has been fenced, however the exposed slope has potential to continue to fail and
deposit additional debris on the roofs of the adjacent buildings. The remaining pavement
at the top of the slope is cracked and could potentially collapse onto the buildings below if
the slope continues to slide as it is exposed to the elements.

The existing 4 story brick building to the south of the collapse was observed from the
bridge and to the south of the buildings to have visible cracks in the brick faade. It is
unclear if the building faade has been inspected by an engineer to assess the current
condition.

Based on the observed conditions I informed you that there was the potential for the buildings at
the base of the wall (with debris still on the roof) to have further collapse of the roof structure and
party walls. The slope has potential to further collapse spilling more debris on the roofing and
based on the condition of the brick faade there is potential for failure of the faade of the brick
masonry building.
Based on the conditions observed, I felt it was my professional duty to inform you of the condition.
Per our conversation you offered the following opinions:

You indicated the owner of the buildings at the base of the wall had an engineer or
contractor inspect the building, but no written report was issued and no shoring of the
building was performed. You also indicated you informed the owner of the tire shop to
stay out of the collapsed area

You indicated the owner of the brick buildings to the south of the wall had engaged Mr.
Bruce Ensor of BE Structural to inspect the building and did not inform you of any specific
concerns. No written report was issued and no shoring of the building was performed. You
indicated that you had entered the building and saw no visible sign of movement. You
did not indicate which areas of the building were inspected or at what frequency the
building was noted to have no visible movement. The collapse has been more than 20 days
at the time of this inspection and it was unclear if follow up inspections have been
performed.

You indicated that you had no specific concerns with the exposed slope.

A call was also placed to the fire department, but we did not meet with any other officials after
meeting with you.
I feel the observed conditions present a potentially dangerous condition for the buildings below
the collapse and the inhabitants of the 4-story brick building.
It is my professional opinion that the areas of collapse and adjacent areas be shorn, the debris
should be removed from roof area, and the slope stabilization should be performed. The 4-story
brick building faade should be assessed by a qualified engineer and continuous monitoring should
be installed to determine if movement is occurring.
Following your review of this report, please contact me with any questions, comments and/or
directives you may have. Thank you.

Page 2 of 3

Subjectwallpriorto
collapse

BingAerialMappriortocollapse

4storyBrickbuilding
withvisiblecracking.
Nomonitoringbeing
performed

Collapsedroofwithshared
partywall.Noshoring
installed

Failedslopewithno
stabilization

ConditionsduringinspectiononMay27,2016
Damagedandcollapsedroof.Weightofcollapsed
wall,soilanddebris(car)restingonunshoredroof.

Failedsectionsof
pavementthatcould
potentiallyfallonto
buildingbelow

Failedslopewithno
stabilization
Visiblycrackedarea

Damagedandcollapsedroof.
Weightofcollapsedwall,soiland
debris(car)restingonroof.

Visiblycrackedarea