Photo by Sarah Owens
The city of Homewood is completing necessary construction to the surface parking lot behind city hall, preventing the underground parking garage from suffering structural decline.
Crews have begun a $583,060 repair project at Homewood City Hall and its adjacent parking deck, aimed at preventing long-term structural damage and improving safety. Work includes resurfacing the parking lot above the underground deck, sealing concrete joints and upgrading the City Hall plaza.
City officials say the repairs were necessary to prevent more serious issues in the future. According to City Inspector Wyatt Pugh, the work covers not only visible wear-and-tear but also hidden structural vulnerabilities.
“Inside the parking garage there were lots of leaks and concrete joints that needed to be cleaned out and sealed, so they fixed those,” Pugh said. “That [cost] also includes the work out back in the parking lot, and there will be some areas on the front plaza that will have to be replaced as well.”
The project includes removing the concrete wear surface, replacing the waterproof membrane and pouring new concrete that must cure for up to 30 days before it can safely support vehicle traffic again. The rubberized membrane plays a critical role in protecting the steel-reinforced structure beneath the surface.
City Manager Glen Adams emphasized that this type of preventative maintenance cannot be postponed without risking serious structural consequences.
“There’s a wear surface that everybody drives on that is sitting on top of the structure,” Adams said. “And if that wear surface is damaged to a point where it starts damaging the rubberized membrane between that and the actual structure that’s holding everything up — which is what we hit the point on — you have to do something, otherwise you’re going to start having a risk to the physical structure that holds everything up.”
Adams noted that parking garages in other cities have suffered sudden collapses due to deferred maintenance, and Homewood officials chose to act proactively. The repairs currently underway are targeted at the ground-level parking surface and the membrane beneath, rather than the structural frame of the deck, which remains intact.
While the work has temporarily limited parking options behind City Hall through the summer, officials expect the inconvenience to be short-lived. The project is expected to be completed by late July or early August, barring any weather-related delays.
“[The timing] had more to do with the fact that it needed to be done, and it’s not something we needed to put off,” Pugh said. “Because if moisture gets through that moisture barrier — which is what they’re uncovering now — and gets to the steel reinforcement, it could cause some major structural issues. It’s one of those kind of situations where you kind of have to rip the band-aid off. You never want to do it, but it’s got to be done.”
The improvements should come with long-term benefits, including better water resistance, safer walking surfaces and extended life for the parking structure. Some upgrades to the plaza area in front of City Hall are also part of the plan.
Officials encourage visitors to plan ahead when visiting the area and to be aware of temporary closures and altered parking patterns during construction.
