Support beams appeared under the newly constructed parking ramp near the Gerdin Business Building a few weeks ago, but officials said it is not falling down.

Doug Houghton, program manager for the Department of Public Safety, said they were doing routine checks of the parking ramp when they noticed some cracking.

The pre-cast slabs of concrete are connected with pins or bolts that are used for the construction process only, Houghton said. These pins and bolts are costly and time consuming to remove. So, Houghton said, spaces are designed for the pins to remain inside so they do not disturb the concrete as it expands and contracts. The space was too close, and it shifted as the concrete contracted during the winter, causing some cracking in two of the support columns, Houghton said.

If it was not addressed, the cracks could become a problem for the future, but with the repairs, there should be no more problems, he said.

Henkel Construction Company built the structure with pre-cast concrete slabs from Coreslab Structures Inc., formerly Rinker Materials Corporation, a subcontractor out of La Platte, Neb.

Houghton said the response of the contractors was very fast.

“They put in the steel supports before the engineers even got there, just in case,” Houghton said.

Mikl Parsons, manager of construction projects for facilities planning and management, said the work on the connections could be finished by the end of the week.

“It’s covered as warranty work, so there is no additional cost to the university,” Parsons said.

Warren Madden, vice president for business and finance, said he was not concerned about the repairs.

He said such problems explain why they do routine checks. He said he was pleased that the problem was fixed quickly after it was found.