Silver Spring Transit Center: how it happened, who’s at fault and who pays

originally posted June 13, 2014
expanded on June 27, 2014

How it happened

1 – Government of the people, by the people and for the people, hereinafter referred to as “Government”, decides that "We the People" need a new transit center.

2 – Government is owner, financier (using We the People’s $) and self-appointed design and construction manager for the new transit center. Government is solely responsible for managing all aspects connected with planning (location, size, cost, etc.), design, financing and construction of the new transit center.

3 – As owner and design manager, Government selects an engineer to design the new transit center. Rather than selecting the engineer using the open, competitive selection process that has been used for decades for public works projects, Government selects the engineer sole source. Public-private partnerships, a.k.a. crony capitalism, a relatively recent invention of Government, are allowed, because Government makes all the rules. Government likes public-private partnerships for obvious reasons--Government can reward their cronies for their $upport.. 

Design for the new transit center proceeds.

4 – As owner and construction manager, Government selects a builder and a concrete inspector/tester for the new transit center. Rather than bidding the new transit center for construction, the decades-old, tried-and-true, competitive process for building public works projects, Government selects the builder and the concrete inspector/tester sole source--crony capitali$m. 

Construction for the new transit center proceeds.

5 – As owner and financier, Government arranges the financing for the new transit center. NO PROBLEM! Government has unlimited $, using We the People's $.

6 – OOOPS! There’s a problem(s)… BIG problems! As owner and design and construction manager, Government selects another engineer (see #3, #4 & #5) to look into the problem(s). The second engineer blames the BIG problems on “errors and omissions” by the transit center’s builder, (original) engineer and concrete inspector/tester.

Who’s at fault? 

Clearly the builder, the (original) engineer and the concrete inspector/tester are at fault. 
But, what about Government? 

• Owner AND design and construction manager, solely responsible for managing all aspects connected with planning, design, financing and construction for the new transit center. 
• Government, which selected the builder, the engineer and the concrete inspector/tester for the new transit center, who made the BIG “errors and omissions”. 
• Government, which didn’t use the normal competitive processes for selecting a builder, an engineer and a concrete inspector/tester for a public works project. 

Isn’t Government responsible too? 
Of course Government is responsible too! 

Who pays?

Who pays for the lemon transit center with all of its BIG problems? the supposed-to-be brand new, flawless transit center?
Why, We the People, do! 
Of course!

What do you have to say for yourselves, Montgomery County, Maryland Transit Administration and Federal Transit Administration? Why do you continue to make repairs, wasting We the People's $, because the repairs that you're making don't address the source(s) of the problem(s) (in particular, the SSTC's complete lack of expansion/contraction joints)?  What do you have to say, Government of the People, by the People and for the People, about your failure to hold public meetings to brief We the People on what you're doing (making expensive repairs to a supposed-to-be brand new SSTC) and why you're doing them (because they don't address the sources of the problems)? What do you have to say about your failure to give We the People the opportunity to ask our questions and to make our comments on the public record? What do you have to say about Government's responsibility to be good stewards of We the People's $? 

What do you have to say for yourselves, news media (print, TV, radio, internet)? Why have you failed, in more than a year reporting this story, with hundreds of stories that contain Montgomery County press releases and public statements from Montgomery County officials, but haven't reported "in-depth" or asked "probing questions", that you so highly tout? Your silence in June (NO new news through June 27) is deafening. Your failure to report the SSTC story-behind-the-story "in-depth" and to ask Montgomery County "probing questions", along with Montgomery County's failure to explain to the public why they selected the builder, the engineer and the concrete inspector/tester without using the normal competitive process for public works projects, is shameful.

On a personal note, it's been frustrating to read and listen to all the "experts" make public statements regarding the safety of the SSTC, and other matters, while lacking basic technical knowledge on the subject--"talking through their hats". Public officials making public statements, especially regarding the safety of the SSTC, should KNOW that their public statements are technically accurate BEFORE they make them. If public officials lack the technical knowledge in construction and engineering to know that the public statements that they make are accurate, then IMHO they shouldn't make them.

The news media have reported numerous times that David Dise, Director of the Montgomery County Department of General Services, says: “The SSTC will absolutely be safe”. HOGWASH! Dise can't guarantee that the SSTC will be safe, any more than ANYONE can predict the future. Dise may THINK that the SSTC will be absolutely safe; but, he doesn’t KNOW that the SSTC will be absolutely safe. It’s Dise’s OPINION that the SSTC will be safe. And, we all know what they say about opinions—they all stink. Stick to the FACTS, Mr. Dise. If you choose to make your OPINIONS public, then be clear to the public that it's your OPINION, NOT A FACT.


June 27, 2014

We, the People, won't know "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" until:

• We the People KNOW why Montgomery County selected the SSTC's builder, engineer and concrete inspector/tester without using competitive processes that are normally used for public works projects. Why wasn't the SSTC bid for construction (normal for public works projects)? Why weren't the engineer and the concrete inspector/tester selected using the normal competitive process for obtaining professional services? Were political "contribution$" part of Montgomery County's selection process for the SSTC?
• We the People understand that "The SSTC will absolutely be safe" is NOT a statement of fact, but rather, an OPINION.
• We the People KNOW why repairs directed by Montgomery County, and endorsed by its experts, do NOT address perhaps the biggest of the SSTC's flaws--that the SSTC has NO expansion/contraction joints. The normal standard of care for construction of structures exposed to temperature changes requires expansion/contraction joints. WMATA design and construction standards, to which the SSTC was supposed to have been designed and constructed, require them to be spaced no more than 100 feet apart. The 315 ft. by 580 ft. SSTC has NONE. The lemon SSTC's severe cracking is likely the result of its complete lack of expansion/contraction joints, yet repairs (deck overlay and external steel bracing on beams) do not address the SSTC's TOTAL lack of expansion joints.
• We the People KNOW why Montgomery County, the Federal Transit Administration and the Maryland Transit Administration failed to hold public meetings where We the People could ask our questions and make our comments on the public record.
• There's an independent investigation into the whys and hows that the severely flawed, lemon Silver Spring Transit came to be, including why and how Government selected the builder, the engineer and the concrete inspector sole source (a.k.a. public-private partnership or crony capitlism) for this $100+ million (and rising), severely flawed public works project.

These are just for starters. There is MUCH more for We the People to learn before we'll KNOW "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth". Until we know "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth", We the People are being deceived by Government of the People, by the People, and for the People, with the help of lazy news media (print, TV, radio, internet) that have failed to report "in depth" and to ask "probing questions", that they so highly tout.

With respect to an independent investigation of the Silver Spring Transit Center debacle, needless to say, those connected with the lemon SSTC do not qualify as independent investigators. Also excluded from an independent investigation should be those connected with Montgomery County, Maryland Transit Administration, Federal Transit Administration, and anyone else who has done business, is doing business, or wants to do business with Montgomery County, MTA or FTA. This includes government and private business employees, including managers, and elected government overseers, including politicians running for office, who influence, or can influence, awards of public contracts.


Why is all of this important? Because, if We the People are getting hosed because of cozy deals (*) between Government of the People, by the People and for the People and their private business cronies, who provide them with sweet deals (*) at our expense, and even more importantly, if public safety is at risk because of these cozy deals (*), then We the People sure don't want to be allowing Government of the People, by the People and for the People to continue its crony capitalism, at We the People's expense, with another public-private partnership on the Purple Line. 

    * "You scratch my back ($ for my campaign), and I'll scratch yours (public works contract)."
       "You scratch my back (public works contract), and I'll scratch yours (company job 
         after you retire from government)." 

Shame on the news media (print, TV, radio, internet) for not reporting this story "in-depth" and for not asking "probing questions" that news media brag about.

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing." 
Edmund Burke

The Silver Spring Transit Center is simply unacceptable

The Silver Spring Transit Center is simply unacceptable.

• Construction (Foulger Pratt) and construction management (Montgomery County) 

The SSTC’s serious flaws (severe cracking, slabs thinner than they’re supposed to be, total lack of expansion/contraction joints, watered-down concrete, concrete exposed to freezing temperatures during curing, exposed reinforcement, missing reinforcement, etc.) are unacceptable. The SSTC is not indicative of the construction and the construction management industry’s typical work on public works projects. The SSTC’s serious flaws violate the normal standard of care for both construction and construction management. 

• Engineering design (Parsons Brinkerhoff)

The SSTC’s under-designed beams and total lack of expansion/contraction joints violate the normal standard of care for design of a public structure that carries fully loaded buses and is exposed to temperature changes. The SSTC is not indicative of the engineering design community’s typical work on public works projects.

• Concrete inspection and testing (Balter Co,)

Suspect concrete test reports showing the same values for multiple samples, 37% more water than called for added to the concrete mix (as determined by in situ testing), slabs poured without reinforcement, exposed reinforcement, freshly poured concrete unprotected from freezing temperatures, etc. violate the normal standard of care for concrete inspection and testing. The SSTC is not indicative of the concrete inspection and testing industry’s typical work on public works projects.

• Cost 

Cost for the SSTC is $120+ million, and rising. $10+ million have been spent on repairs before the SSTC has even opened. Because of its numerous construction and design flaws, even a repaired SSTC will be expensive to operate and maintain. The public expect a brand new, unflawed transit center, not a severely flawed one. The public should demand their money back.

• Metro patrons

Metro patrons pay for the SSTC (construction, repairs, operation and maintenance costs) through user fees. Metro patrons should not have to bear repair and increased construction, operation and maintenance costs for the severely flawed SSTC. These costs would not have occurred with a brand new, unflawed transit center that Metro patrons expect.

• Taxpayers

Taxpayers from Montgomery County, the State of Maryland and 49 other states are paying for the SSTC. Funding for the SSTC is 53% federal, 11% state and 36% county. It’s unacceptable that Montgomery County, the Maryland Transit Administration and the Federal Transit Administration have proceeded with repairs to the SSTC without public input. Having to pay for the SSTC without being briefed on why Montgomery County is proceeding with repairs to the yet-to-be-opened SSTC, and without having the opportunity to ask our questions and make our comments on the public record, is simply unacceptable.

The severely flawed, yet-to-be-opened, $120+ million SSTC is simply unacceptable. The public should demand their money back.

Silver Spring Transit Center: no news is no news

Search "Silver Spring Transit Center" on the internet and you will find a lot of... nothing new.

The brand new, yet-to-be-opened, $120+ million Silver Spring Transit Center, only yards away from the D.C./MD line, is severely cracked from stem to stern. Big story? But there's more. Not only is the SSTC severely cracked, but also:

• slabs are thinner than they're supposed to be
• some reinforcement is exposed while other reinforcement is missing 
• suspect concrete test reports show exactly the same test values for multiple samples
• concrete was exposed to freezing temperatures during curing
• in situ tests show 37% more water than called for was added to the concrete mix
• beams are under-designed
• 3-inch thick pieces of concrete have fallen from the building
• expansion/contraction joints, which should have been placed every 100 feet or less, are totally missing in the 315 ft. by 580 ft. transit center
• etc.

A March 2013 report commissioned by Montgomery County blames the SSTC's serious flaws on errors and omissions by the contractor/builder, the engineer/designer and the concrete inspection/testing firm.

That was more than a year ago. One would think that more than a year later that the news media would have asked Montgomery County how and why they selected the SSTC's contractor/builder, engineer/designer and concrete inspection/testing firm. Not so. The news media (print, TV, radio, internet) have reported all of Montgomery County's press releases and public statements by County officials; but, they have failed to ask the County why and how all of this happened in the first place, starting with why and how the County selected the builder, engineer and concrete testing firm. 

All the while the news media tout how they report "in depth" and ask "probing questions". 

Baloney. No news is no news.

Silver Spring Transit Center: missing the obvious

Why do Montgomery County and its experts continue to miss the obvious?

More than a year ago Montgomery County released a report that it commissioned to address widespread cracking in slabs, beams, girders and columns at the yet-to-be-opened, severely flawed Silver Spring Transit Center. The report identifies the SSTC's total lack of expansion/contraction joints as a major defect. The report says that despite WMATA's requirement that expansion joints be located no more than 100 feet apart, the 315 ft. by 580 ft. SSTC has NONE. 

An article in Structure Magazine explains why expansion joints are necessary in parking garages:
http://www.structuremag.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/C-StrucDesign-Iqbal-Oct101.pdf
"The purpose of an expansion joint is to reduce build-up of volume change (VC) stresses and the associated structural distress. An expansion joint is considered a necessary evil because omitting an expansion joint where it is needed creates a risk of structural distress."
Hence, the widespread concrete cracking.

Yet, for whatever reason(s), Montgomery County and its experts continue to fail to address the obvious. Ongoing repairs (2-inch thick latex concrete overlay and external steel braces on cracked beams where, according to Engineering News Record, 3-inch thick pieces of concrete have fallen) don't address the obvious problem (the SSTC's total lack of expansion/contraction joints).

Unfortunately, Montgomery County didn't hold public meetings to explain to the paying public what it is doing and why. We're ALL paying for the $120+ million, severely flawed, lemon SSTC; funding is 53% federal, 11% state and 36% county.  Unfortunate as well is the news media's (print, TV, radio, internet) lack of "in-depth" coverage and "probing questions", that they so highly tout. 

Because of the news media's poor coverage and because neither Montgomery County, the Federal Transit Administration, nor the Maryland Transit Administration held public meetings where the public could ask their questions and make their comments on the public record, we don't know why Montgomery County and its experts continue to miss the obvious.

In an interview ( http://www.mymcmedia.org/valerie-ervin-on-silver-spring-transit-center-video/ )
former Montgomery County councilwoman Valerie Ervin said "... there's a lot of the story still underneath the surface (translation: we haven't been told the whole truth) ... it's going to cost taxpayers a lot of money until it's resolved (contrary to what we've been told) ... people have many reasons not to believe what they've been told (translation: we've been lied to)".  

Politics is one thing; public safety, government waste and government deception are another.

Silver Spring Transit Center: Dr. Gridlock

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/a-late-silver-line-dc-streetcar-dont-match-debacle-of-silver-spring-transit-center/2014/06/02/1c12e01a-e5c5-11e3-a86b-362fd5443d19_story.html

Federal, state and county taxpayers and proposed Purple Line patrons should know that a public-private partnership brought us the Silver Spring Transit Center; and, a public-private partnership is planned to bring us the Purple Line too. Public-private partnerships are fully endorsed by the Federal Transit Administration and the Maryland Transit Administration. Funding for the SSTC is 53% federal, 11% state and 36% county. 

Hold on to your wallets, folks!

Silver Spring Transit Center: unfixable defects

If there's anything that's clear from KCE's March 15, 2013 Silver Spring Transit Center structural evaluation report, it's that there are serious, unfixable flaws with the SSTC. Chief among them is the SSTC's complete lack of expansion/contraction joints.

WMATA design and construction standards, to which the SSTC was supposed to have been designed and built, require expansion/contraction joints be spaced no farther than 100 feet apart. The 315 ft. by 580 ft. SSTC has NONE. Extensive cracking in the SSTC, which was the reason behind KCE's March 15, 2013 report, is likely caused by the SSTC's complete lack of expansion/contraction joints. WMATA's engineers say that without expansion/contraction joints, and with the SSTC's other serious design and construction flaws, that the SSTC's required 50-yr. service life is in jeopardy. They also say that the SSTC will be expensive to operate and maintain. Both KCE and WMATA blame the SSTC's serious defects on errors and omissions by the SSTC's contractor/builder, Foulger Pratt, engineer/designer, Parsons Brinkerhoff, and concrete inspector/tester and special quality inspector, Balter Company.

How does one "fix" a 315 ft. by 580 ft., existing (albeit unopened) concrete building, that's supposed to have expansion/contraction joints located every 100 ft. or less, that doesn't have ANY? Is it possible to do so? One would think that more than a year after KCE's report that Montgomery County and its experts would have answered these questions. Not so. Nonetheless, Montgomery County presses ahead with repairs that won't fix the problem (no expansion/contraction joints). A concrete overlay won't fix the problem (total lack of expansion/contraction joints). Exterior steel braces on cracked concrete beams with 3-inch thick pieces of concrete falling from them (according to Engineering News Record) won't fix the problem either (no expansion/contraction joints).

One would also think that more than a year after KCE's report, and as Montgomery County presses ahead with "repairs" that won't fix the problem (the SSTC's complete lack of expansion/contraction joints), that Montgomery County and its experts would have presented a plan to the public, who paid and are paying for the $120+ million, lemon SSTC, that addresses the problem (the SSTC's complete lack of expansion/contraction joints). Not so. Neither Montgomery County, the Federal Transit Administration nor the Maryland Transit Administration has held public meetings to explain to the public what they're doing and why, and allow the public to ask their questions and to make their comments on the public record. Public funding for the $120+ million, lemon SSTC is 53% federal, 11% state and 36% county.

Is it because Montgomery County and their experts don't have an answer for the problem (the SSTC's complete lack of expansion/contraction joints)? If so, then there's only one answer: REJECT the seriously flawed, unfixable, lemon SSTC, and demand our money back.