Piece of concrete falls from column at Huntington Metro, but no structural issues found

The concrete pieces are seen on left after being swept up. At right, the damaged column. (Photo courtesy of Diane Owen)

A large piece of concrete fell from a column at the Huntington Metro on Tuesday evening, but engineers who inspected the damage said the column remains structurally sound.

The concrete fell in an area between a wall and the faregates at the North Kings Highway entrance/exit on the mezzanine level. Nobody was struck, and the location where it fell is not a place where commuters would typically being walking or standing.

Diane Owen was exiting the station when she saw the concrete fall shatter when it hit the floor. She alerted the station manager, who responded quickly and made sure other riders avoided the area.

“Kudos to the station manager Ms. Corbin, who reacted right away — figuring out what was crumbling, putting up barricade, calling in supervisor, filing report,” Owen tweeted afterward.

A Metro spokeswoman said that engineers arrived not long afterward, removed some other loose pieces of concrete from the column and determined it was safe.

“The area was immediately barricaded off and any loose concrete was removed within hours to prevent any further issues,” said Sherry Ly. “Structural engineers assessed the area and did not find any further concerns.”

The North Kings Highway entrance is connected to the south garage, which will be torn down in the summer of 2019. The garage, which was built in 1983 and is the oldest in Metro’s system, has been dealing with structural deterioration for years. Around 350 spaces in the garage, including the entire top level, have been closed since late 2015.

The entire station will be closed for three months during the summer of 2019 in order to rebuild the platform and make other fixes. The garage demolition will be done during that time, although it is not yet clear what will replace it.