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Utah SHIPO architect recommends monitor after finding horizontal crack in Allen Park stone arch
Summary
A Utah State Historic Preservation Office architect inspected a stone arch in Allen Park, Salt Lake City, and advised installing a crack monitor after identifying one crack as construction-related and another horizontal crack as concerning.
Jansen Bennett, preservation architect with Utah SHIPO, said during a field inspection at Allen Park in Salt Lake City that two cracks in a stone arch should be monitored to determine whether simple patching will suffice or if structural repairs are needed.
Bennett said the first crack appears to be caused by the way the arch and an adjoining wall were constructed and did not appear to threaten the stone's structural integrity. He described the second crack — a horizontal split — as more worrisome and recommended installing instrumentation to track movement before deciding on repairs.
"this crack here is due to the way that the arch and the wall were constructed. These were actually built separately, so my guess is that the arch was built first, and then this wall was built up to and abutting the arch," Bennett said, describing what he called a construction-sequence separation that had widened over time but posed no obvious structural damage.
"Over here on the other hand, this crack is more concerning. It's kind of odd to see a horizontal crack here," he said, adding, "I recommend installing a crack monitor where you can gauge how quickly the crack is moving." Bennett said that once monitoring data are collected, "you can see whether it's okay to just patch the crack or if more structural, repairs are necessary."
The recommendation to install a crack monitor is a diagnostic step; Bennett did not report a formal repair plan or funding source, and no entity in the transcript committed to follow-up work or a repair timeline.
