Opal Tower residents await explanation for cracking cause from engineers
A meeting is underway this afternoon between all of the engineers investigating the troubled Opal Tower.
A meeting is underway this afternoon between all of the engineers investigating the troubled Opal Tower, as displaced residents await an explanation over the cracks that caused two evacuations in a week.
The investigating team of is made up of engineers from Rincovitch and Kajima Corporation, appointed by Icon, the Opal Tower’s builders and WSP, design and structural engineers for the development project.
The Opal Tower’s body corporate has also appointed engineering firm Cardno to join the investigation.
Two NSW Government-appointed engineers have also been involved in engineering investigations, led by UNSW Professor Mark Hoffman and Newcastle University Professor John Carter.
An update is expected to be given at the conclusion of the meeting, which is being held at the Opal Tower site.
“A meeting of all the engineers … is scheduled for 2pm today and we hope to be in a position to give you further information after this meeting has occurred,” said an Icon update sent to residents this afternoon.
“While the investigation is ongoing, we are unable to pre-empt or confirm the findings. Please be assured that any findings that are made by the engineers will be shared first with residents,” it said.
Meanwhile, a number of residents that were moved to hotels by the builder Icon after the entire building was evacuated for a second time on Thursday were today forced to check out of those hotel rooms.
A spike in pre-booked accommodation over new year’s eve meant that continuous room bookings organised for residents for the duration of the engineers’ 10-day investigation were unable to be secured.
Opal Tower residents were first evacuated on Christmas Eve after residents reported hearing cracking sounds throughout the building, with large cracks causing the failure of a precast wall panel on Level 10 of the 38-storey development
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