Posted on Apr 27, 2004

TWG Construction of Torrance, California has completed a critical stage of the stabilization-restoration of the historic church of Mission San Miguel with the installation of emergency shoring at critical points in the earthquake damaged structure. Shoring was added to the window above the front door and inside the front door itself. Other reinforcement shoring included buttressing the north Sacristy wall to keep it from falling down and potentially affecting the stability of the entire north side of the Church itself. The company also shored-up the windows in the Church on the south wall. In addition to the Church itself, TWG Construction buttressed the Arcade on each end and two of the arches within the Arcade. The work took three weeks to complete and progressed very smoothly. Project coordinator John Fowler cautioned, “all this work does not change the County’s red-tagging or make it more safe for the public, it is only temporary, and will stay in place until major restoration has begun.” The old Church building and Arcade remain closed to the public. Currently a comprehensive major engineering study of the entire mission complex is ongoing and will address the exact extent of damage done to the church structure by the earthquake and to create a cost estimate and restoration plan for stabilizing and repairing the structure. The engineering study and church restoration plan are not expected to be finalized for another couple of months. The cost for the restoration is anticipated to run into the several millions, and will take several years to complete. In the meantime, the Mission Museum and Gift Shop have been determined by County Safety Inspectors to be safe, and are open to the public daily. For more information on the Mission please visit its web site: www.missionsanmiguel.org or call 805 467-2131 or 805 467- 3256.