Falling concrete slab temporarily closes St. Paul's RiverCentre parking ramp

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St. Paul's RiverCentre parking ramp is being closed temporarily after a large piece of concrete fell from the ceiling and damaged a parked vehicle Wednesday evening, officials said in a release.

Nobody was injured as a result of the incident, though crews from the city's Department of Safety and Inspections are looking at the area and will reopen the ramp once their review is finished.

Mayor Melvin Carter took the occasion to highlight what he sees as the need for an updated parking structure on the site, which was built in 1970 and has taken more than $15 million in the past 18 years to repair.

“This incident underscores the critical condition the ramp is in, and the urgency with which we need to build a new ramp to serve the 2.1 million visitors it serves each year,” Carter said in a statement.

There is no timeline for when the ramp will reopen.

In the meantime, 500 of the roughly 700 people who regularly park in the lot are being redirected to the Kellogg, Smith and 7 Corners lots, with the remaining 200 being sent to the HRA Lawson ramp, Port Authority Capital City ramp and a privately owned Victory ramp. The city insists it has the capacity to accommodate everyone who would otherwise be displaced by the closure.

For more information, visit the RiverCentre website by clicking here.

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