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A forensic investigation of the structurally unsound Courthouse Square building in Salem concluded that the project’s problems came from its engineering.

The report, presented to Marion County this week by Golder Associates, includes an analysis by structural engineering firm Perbix Bykonen tracing the building’s problems to structural engineer Mike Hayford, who died in 2002.

The Courthouse Square building was completed in 2000 as a home for Marion County government offices. By 2002, tenants had grown concerned about the deteriorating quality of the building, including cracks and separation in finishes and unevenness in the floors. The first study on the building was conducted in 2002, and additional studies eventually led to the building being declared unsafe and evacuated last September, when it was found that weight on the building’s columns was too great for the building to be considered inhabitable.

Perbix Bykonen’s conclusion, according to the report, is, 鈥淪imply stated, that most of the serviceability and almost all of the safety concerns noted in the structure stem from various problems in the structural engineers’ work.鈥�

The investigation found Hayford had responsibility for much of the faulty design. Hayford’s family claimed in a lawsuit that Hayford’s deteriorating health may have contributed to mistakes on the project. This problem was likely exacerbated when Hayford was let go from Century West Engineering, the engineering firm working on the project, and replaced with Timothy Terich, an engineer who had only recently earned his certification, according to the report.

According to Marion County business services director Dave Henderson, a $1 million lawsuit with Century West Engineering is still in process. The county has settled lawsuits with contractor Pence/Kelly Construction, Arbuckle Costic Architects and five other subcontractors.