Westin hotel hangs safety nets after chunk of metal falls - Charlotte Observer
Westin hotel officials continued to drape the building in protective netting Monday, three days after a large sheet of aluminum fell from the 24th floor.
Meanwhile, parts of College and Stonewall streets - in addition to the Stonewall light-rail station - are closed this morning as hotel workers finish installing the nets.
William Haas, Charlotte's Building Services division manager, said the hotel was getting closer to making the area safe for pedestrians and rail and vehicular traffic after a sheet of aluminum weighing 30 to 50 pounds fell from the building Friday morning.
But Haas said it was unclear when the roads and rail station would reopen.
The hotel began securing nets to the building Sunday, two days after a 5- by 4-foot piece of aluminum fell from the hotel's outer wall.
David Montgomery, director of sales and marketing for Westin, said the nets would funnel any additional debris out of the public's path.
Montgomery said the hotel did not know of any other loose sections, but will begin a thorough review of the building's exterior Wednesday.
A Lynx light-rail operator found the aluminum debris Friday morning on the tracks about 70 feet from the building, according to Westin officials. The piece of aluminum was part of the building's original facade, constructed in 2003.
As a result of the debris, the city closed portions of College and Stonewall streets, and the Charlotte Area Transit System closed the Stonewall station of the Lynx blue line to passengers that day.
Jean Leier, spokeswoman for the transit system, said the track was not damaged by the debris. Leier said it was unclear when the transit system would reopen the station, which handles an average of 915 weekday riders.
"We're waiting to see what's going on," she said. "After they review the structure, we'll reopen service when it is deemed safe."
Montgomery said the hotel hoped to have the protective nets in place by this afternoon. Haas said he would meet with hotel officials then and relay their progress to the city engineer before the city decides whether to reopen nearby roads.
"We need to be comfortable that the public is going to be safe," said Haas, who applauded the Westin's efforts to fix the problem.
Officials reported no injuries or property damage from Friday's aluminum debris.
Leier said trains are running normally and the debris caused only minimal effects to rail service.
Light-rail riders who typically board at the Stonewall station are encouraged to board at the Third, Seventh, Carson Street or Charlotte Transportation Center stations. Friday's incident wasn't the first time falling building debris has disrupted traffic in Charlotte.
In January, police closed parts of Stonewall and Tryon streets as sheets of ice fell from the 48-story Duke Energy Center.
Last year, part of a concrete window awning toppled from a seven-story building at 312 West Trade St., causing officials to close one lane of traffic.
And in 2008, construction workers at the Duke Energy Center broke a glass panel that rained down from the building's site.
About a week later, a crane at the site dropped several steel beams, one of which landed on a school bus. No one was seriously injured in any of the mishaps.
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