The majority of University of Utah buildings are poorly designed to withstand a major earthquake.
Fifty of the U.'s 87 buildings are listed with a poor or very poor rating in a new study by engineering experts. The study estimates it would cost $77.7 million to upgrade the buildings for earthquake safety.In a report to the U. board of trustees Monday, Lawrence Reaveley of Reaveley Engineers and Associates, the firm that studied the campus buildings, said those structures in the poor and very poor categories likely would suffer partial or total collapse in a major event, depending upon the quake's proximity to the campus.
In a priority list of the 50 poorest buildings, the three worst are married student housing, the School of Medicine and the Olpin Student Union.
The married student housing complex scored so poorly because it has occupants 24 hours a day, compared with other campus buildings where occupancy varies by time of day and quarter schedule.
Each ranking on the priority list was calculated on the number of individuals using the building, type of construction, height and importance of the building as a recovery site after a disaster.
But, Reavley said, the U. buildings are no worse than many structures along the Wasatch Front that were constructed before the more restrictive earthquake codes adopted in the past 15 years.
In grouping the buildings in categories, the engineering firm showed that the average date of construction for buildings rated as good was 1981, while the average date for the very poor buildings was 1940.
Many of the buildings in the very poor category are the oldest buildings on campus - the structures standing in Presidents Circle that were constructed early in the 20th century.
Alarmed by the poor rankings, Louis Callister, vice chairman of the trustees, asked Reaveley if any of the buildings were in danger of imminent collapse.
"Every one of the buildings on campus is stable, given we don't have an earthquake," Reaveley said.
He said there has been no major quake - one with a 6.0 or greater magnitude on the Richter scale - centered along the Wasatch Fault in the Salt Lake Valley since the Mormon pioneers arrived in 1847.
But there is no way to predict when a quake might occur. "It could be just around the corner or it might not occur for another 50 years," he said.
The $77.7 million price tag is steep, especially in light of the tight higher education budgets in recent years.
Walter P. Gnemi, U. vice president for administrative services, said the Reaveley report will be shared with the state Board of Regents and legislators in an effort to secure funding.
However, the study will likely serve as a planning guide for making campus buildings more earthquake resistant during routine maintenance and remodeling, he said.
Tying seismic improvements into remodeling can help mitigate the costs, Reaveley told the board.
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(Additional information)
Fix 'em up
Buildings at the University of Utah most in need of seismic upgrading:
1. Married student housing (all buildings)
2. School of Medicine
3. Olpin Student Union
4. Social and Behavioral Science
5. Fletcher Building (physics)
Worst U. buildings in an earthquake
Building Year constructed Upgrade cost
1. Married Student Housing 1959 $7.4 million
2. School of Medicine 1965 $8.6 million
3. Olpin Student Union 1953 $5.1 million
4. Social and Behavioral Science 1968 $3.6 million
5. Fletcher Building (physics) 1965 $1.5 million
6. Nursing 1967 $854,126
7. Widtsoe (math) 1901 $827,699
8. Eyring (chemistry) 1965 $2.2 million
9. Milton Bennion Hall (education 1958 $793,952
10. Van Cott Hall (dormitory) 1960 $1.2 million
11. Ballif Hall (dormitory) 1952 $844,192
12. Cowles (communications) 1901 $592,492
13. Heating plant 1961 $566,448
14. Thomas (Museum of Natural History) 1933 $2.1 million
15. Skaggs Hall (pharmacy) 1964 $1.2 million
16. Gardner Hall (music) 1929 $1.5 million
17. Kingsbury Hall 1928 $1.4 million
18. Orson Spencer Hall 1953 $1.9 million
19. Business classroom building 1962 $986,387
20. Mines 1919 $487,951
21. Art & Architecture 1968 $1.3 million
22. Park (administration) 1914 $1.9 million
Rating is determined by a formula that looks at a number of factors such as average occupancy, type of construction, building height, the need of facility to provide shelter after a disaster
Source: Reaveley Engineers & Associates