Officials: Failed SA Wall Not Built to Plan

SAN ANTONIO (AP) _ A city official who inspected a collapsed retaining wall in a San Antonio neighborhood says it was not built according to a design engineer’s plan.

Assistant City Manager T.C. Broadnax wrote in an e-mail obtained by the San Antonio Express-News that inspectors’ field observations Friday found limestone was not mortared throughout the wall as plans called for.

However, Centex spokeswoman Valerie Dolenga said Sunday that initial findings by engineers “continue to point to a significant soil shift” and said more tests are being conducted.

Two homeowners on Thursday sued over the Jan. 24 landslide, which forced the evacuation of about 90 homes as crevices, up to 15 feet deep, emerged on a hilltop. Twenty-seven homes remain evacuated.

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