Barricades put up around Sears Tower as precaution

Associated Press WriterCHICAGO (AP) -- Concrete highway barricades have been installed near doors to the Sears Tower, a move intended to prevent a car from crashing through any of the street-level entrances at the nation's tallest building.

TrizecHahn, the company that co-owns and manages the 110-story building, decided last week to put the barriers in place and they were installed Tuesday night, a spokesman said.

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, security at the Sears Tower has been heightened. Employees cross lines of blue police barricades to get to work. They also must show identification and pass through a security checkpoint before getting on the elevators.

The barriers reassured some people who work in the tower.

"I think the biggest concern is that somebody drives something in here and has it explode once it gets in," said Chris Kentra, an attorney whose law firm is on the building's 82nd and 83rd floors. "The more safety, the better."

But Julie Welch, a health care consultant who also works in the building, still wonders if it could be a target.

"It's good that they put these up to prevent anything that might be planned, but I don't know if it's going to stop a bad intention. If someone wants to hit it, they'll figure out a way," Welch said Wednesday.

The building's observation deck, which has been closed since the attacks, will probably reopen by the end of the month, the spokesman said. When it does, visitors will have to walk through metal detectors and place their bags through X-ray machines similar to those used in airports, the spokesman said. Those security measures were not in place before the attacks.

The building is undergoing a review of security procedures. TrizecHahn is working with two security consulting firms as well as the Chicago Police Department and FBI, the building spokesman said.

The concrete barriers will remain until more decorative devices are installed.