The second and third floors of the Washington Street garage collapsed around 3 a.m. Tuesday. No one was injured in the collapse, but there were five cars inside at the time. All were on-duty police officers’ personal cars. The building will have to be demolished, City Manager Curt Davis said.

Davis said engineers walked through the garage about a year ago and pointed out superficial work that needed to be done, but gave no indication the garage was not structurally sound.

He said the building is the oldest of the city’s garages at nearly 40 years old. He said the garage was refurbished in 1990 and in 1999. The fourth and fifth floors were closed to parking because officials did not want cars passing through the third floor, where concrete was falling from the ceiling.

About a year ago, engineers pointed out more beams and ceiling sheeting that needed to be sandblasted and repainted, but Davis said they gave no indication that the garage was at risk of caving in.

Davis said the superficial slab work translated into millions of dollars that the city doesn’t have. He said he would release a copy of the garage’s latest inspection and study after consulting insurance representatives and engineers.

As crews sifted through the rubble, the collapse forced the closure of Washington Street, also known as Route 3044. As of noon, drivers were being detoured down Clinton Street (Route 271) to Bedford, then onto Haines Street. From Haines, they can follow Napoleon Street (Route 403) to the intersection of Roosevelt Boulevard (Route 56), and then back to Washington.

City officials expected Washington Street to reopen around 5 p.m.

The collapse also forced the closing Tuesday of Blaine Boring’s Chocolates and Beginnings Intervention Services, a service provider for children with special needs. The Market Street business is closed indefinitely, officials said.

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