by Zach Thaxton
z.thaxton@krdo.com
Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ZachThaxton

COLORADO SPRINGS - The City of Colorado Springs will work with builders to fix the problem of falling snow and ice from the new United States Olympic Committee headquarters building downtown. 

"Officials from the City of Colorado Springs have authorized a joint effort between the contractor, roofing contractor, architect and manufacturer to begin immediate installation of a temporary solution to prevent snow and ice from falling from the roof of the building at 27 N. Tejon St. in downtown Colorado Springs," the City said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.  "The temporary fix features a continuous sheet metal plate that will be attached to the roof snow guards until a permanent solution is determined and implemented. The temporary protection measure will be installed before the weekend."

Large chunks of snow and ice fell nearly 70 feet from the metal pitched roof of the new United States Olympic Committee headquarters building at Tejon and Colorado in downtown Colorado Springs Monday morning and afternoon, damaging several cars and forcing the closure of one of downtown's busiest streets for several hours.

The problem began once the sun rose high enough in the clear southeastern sky to begin melting the snow that had fallen Saturday and Sunday.  Snow retention devices meant to prevent snow and ice from falling from the roof failed to function properly, according to a statement released by Denver-based OZ Architecture.  OZ says the devices have functioned appropriately during recent snowstorms.  The Colorado Springs Fire Department was forced to close one westbound lane of Colorado Avenue nearest the building for most of Monday morning, and by lunchtime Tejon Street was completely closed between Pikes Peak and Colorado in anticipation of more falling snow and ice from the building's west side.  Pedestrians were prevented from using the sidewalks adjacent to the USOC building.

Tuesday afternoon, NEWSCHANNEL 13 spoke with Rob Haddock, president of the Metal Roof Advisory Group, Ltd. and considered the nation's foremost expert on metal roofing and snow retention.  He's also a resident of El Paso County.  He says snow retention devices called cleats, like those on the roof of the USOC building, are effective at holding back large amounts of snow, but smaller amounts, like those seen over the weekend, can slide underneath the cleats.  He suggests a continuous track of plates to block the snow.  The USOC building does have gutters to collect drainage from the roof, but Haddock says gutters aren't meant for snow.  "A gutter is not a snow-retention device," he says.  "A snow retention device is there to protect the gutter, and the gutter's job is to carry the meltwater away from the roof."  Snow and ice slid over the gutters on the USOC building and crashed onto the sidewalk below.

Unlike many who are eager to place blame on the City, developers, or architects for the problem, Haddock says it was an easy mistake to make.  "I think it was a good selection as far as a roof type," he says.  "It's just that the hazard wasn't dealt with in the absolute best way it could've been, and that problem is relatively easy to remedy.  They didn't make a mistake that thousands of their peers haven't made also on tens of thousands of roofs."  Haddock also says the solution of installing continuous plates along the entire roof is inexpensive, costing, at most, a few thousand dollars.  "It's really a pretty small expense compared to the value of the building, even the value of the roof."