Unfortunate builders got to the bottom of the editors of “MK”

To the complex of apartments and the office and business center that is being built in the neighborhood, trenches and pits are dug here and there with enviable regularity, asphalt is shredded on the sidewalk, metal reinforcing reinforcement is pulled out and cut out of the ground, blocks of concrete and heaps of soil are immediately lying around. Heavy construction equipment leaves dirt and dents on the pavement, black oil smudges and puddles.

If you do not know that these are builders, as the sign on the fence says, it seems that they are looking for some kind of treasure, but do not know where to dig.

They dig everywhere and with enviable regularity, and most importantly, on someone else’s land. The editorial staff and passers-by, hurrying along the street of 1905, have been maneuvering between “excavations” for almost two months in order to somehow get through the ruined sidewalk, sprinkled with gravel, and not break their legs.

For several months in winter and spring, editorial staff walked along the unsteady wooden flooring to get to work, since the construction site next door needed to lay some kind of track. But we treated with understanding and stoically endured all the inconveniences and dangers associated with construction work in the immediate vicinity of our editorial house.

And great again. This is the third or fourth “excavation” over the past two months. They act impudently and quickly: they drove up, picked it up, left the dirt, dumped it. Look for the wind in the field – in the sense, in the city. Workers in overalls immediately pretend: “I’m not me,” “I was told, I did it.” If you manage to “catch” someone with a higher rank, it’s good luck.

We ask about permits for construction work on the street in 1905. There are no documents. “Fairy tales” begin about the difficult life of builders: what, they say, we will bring, we will show, everything is there, but not here and not now. Tomorrow everything will be done, we will bury everything, we will restore the asphalt. For these builders, there has been no tomorrow for two months now.

And today, in a few hours of vigorous work, the builders dug up and ran into the foundation of the building of the editorial office of “MK”.

The excavator dug into the ground and dug a trench close to the plinth of the editorial headquarters, heaping construction debris on the lawn, blocking the fire exit.

Pieces of asphalt flew in all directions. The tractor rumbled. The ground and the 7-story building shook as if from an earthquake. A dashing breakthrough ended with the fact that the builders ran into impressive metal beams and a channel. This is an integral part of the base of the foundations of the building “MK”.

They were stopped only by the fact that there was no autogenous gun that could cut off this huge metal beam-channel sticking out of the depths of the trench. Given that the seven-story building, built more than forty years ago, is still one of the largest publishing and printing complexes in Moscow, it is not surprising that the engineering solution of the foundations is quite complex, includes elements and reinforcements not only along the perimeter of the building, but also on immediately adjacent territory.

If these beams are damaged, it is impossible to guarantee the geometric integrity of the MK complex. And even a shift or slope of a few millimeters can be critical for high-precision printing equipment. Not to mention the danger to people.

In fact, the builders of the elite complex should not be here initially. They ignore every conceivable “red line”. Perhaps the competencies of these builders are only enough to fit the excavator and bite into the trench. They probably thought that from such their enthusiasm, the walls of the MK editorial office would magically open and let them through. This, of course, did not happen.

Fortunately, the wall of the MK editorial office did not collapse either. Apparently, this upset the unfortunate builders. After clarifying the situation with their lack of permits, calling the police, the chief of the builders promised that “they won’t do this again”, tomorrow everything will be restored as it was, dirt and debris will be removed.

By the time the police arrived, all the workers “dissolved”, which suggests: are they all right with these documents… Or maybe a hard working day just ended? Perhaps they have a glimmer of hope that heavy rains, which are expected in the capital on September 24, can wash out this foundation pit – and the foundations of the publishing complex will again be in jeopardy?

The representative of the contractor LLC “Svetoch” showed the order of the Moscow OATI No. 22010335, issued on July 6 this year, for the work being performed. This document allows “excavation of a trench”, but does not contain clear geometric references, the place of work is indicated otherwise. The builders of MK did not provide working documentation.

It is characteristic that the legal entity of the contractor – a classic for such cases – is a limited liability company with an authorized capital of 10 thousand rubles (although the company paid 2.7 million rubles in taxes last year, according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities). In other words, a company that will physically have nothing to answer in the event of serious damage.

The customer of the work is a much more serious group of companies Vesper, which launched a residential (as usual, apartments, yes! – plus a business center) building on the site of a former paint and varnish factory on 2nd Zvenigorodskaya. Side by side with the editors of “MK”. The construction has been in full swing for many years (moreover, it should be noted that the plant’s buildings, which were originally planned for preservation – for example, a beautiful brick water pump from the beginning of the last century, were nevertheless demolished for the company with the entire complex).

This developer’s portfolio includes expensive club houses on Tverskaya, Ostozhenka and other prestigious places in Moscow. Presnya, to be sure, to match these areas, and we are proud of that. But if a contractor of an expensive developer digs a trench, communications like this, not paying much attention to the accuracy, correctness and safety of the work, to the existing building, restrictions and encumbrances, geometry and right “across” the neighboring properties – it seems worth talking about the quality of such construction to think.

Well, “MK” will continue to closely monitor who and how these builders are digging, and hopes that there will be no victims and destruction, as expected.