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The James K. Polk State Office Building was completed in 1981. Each floor of the 24-story building hangs from a central steel core. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Vibrations prompt evacuation of Tenn. state office building

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
The James K. Polk State Office Building was completed in 1981. Each floor of the 24-story building hangs from a central steel core. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
The James K. Polk State Office Building was completed in 1981. Each floor of the 24-story building hangs from a central steel core. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – About 500 people were evacuated on Wednesday from a state office building in downtown Nashville where vibrations were reported.

Tennessee Emergency Management spokesman Jeremy Heidt said the employees left the James K. Polk building as a precautionary measure.

Tennessee Department of General Services spokeswoman Kelly Smith told The Associated Press in an email that professional engineers examined the area of concern and determined that there were “no structural concerns.” She said workers would return on Thursday.

The building is uniquely built in that the floors and glass walls of the tower are suspended from a central concrete core.

“In heavily loaded structural steel facilities like the Polk Building, movement and vibrations occasionally occur,” Smith wrote. “We are putting monitoring devices in place.”

The building houses the bulk of the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s headquarters, as well as other state institutions, such as the Tennessee Performing Arts Center and Tennessee State Museum.

Copyright 2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-09-25-14 0029GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

The James K. Polk State Office Building was completed in 1981. Each floor of the 24-story building hangs from a central steel core. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
The James K. Polk State Office Building was completed in 1981. Each floor of the 24-story building hangs from a central steel core. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.