Parts of Crumbling Binghamton Parking Garage Closed

As holes continued to open in deteriorated concrete, Binghamton officials closed sections of a parking garage across the street from City Hall.

About 200 of the 535 parking spaces in the Collier Street garage are unavailable as emergency repairs get underway.

Mayor Richard David says the city expects to spend $1.4 million to restore the garage and two other downtown parking facilities.

Portions of the upper levels of the Collier Street garage will be closed until further notice. Several other sections throughout the facility also are off-limits because of crumbling concrete and safety concerns.

Concrete slabs are to be repaired in the weeks ahead. Steel beams are to be rehabilitated and waterproofing measures are planned.

City-owned and parking management vehicles are to be moved to the Water Street and State Street garages. Parking for jurors in downtown courts will be relocated.

The repair work at the Collier Street garage is expected to continue through late summer.

Mayor David said the facility is nearing the end of its "useful life" and a garage must be built to replace it.

A section of the Collier Street garage was closed two years ago because of an opening in the concrete. At that time, emergency repairs were made to a five-by-ten foot area in the facility.