A sad tale

Montgomery County Plans to Turn Silver Spring Transit Center Over to WMATA Soon - Bethesda Beat

"The $140 million bus depot connected to the Silver Spring Metro station is about $50 million over budget and four years behind schedule due to construction and structural issues."  

How NOT to manage a public works project: 

1. Pick your private business buddies to do the work (public-private partnership), instead of competitively selecting private contractors for your public project, as is done with most public works projects. 
2. Select problem-plagued WMATA to be your public partner.
3. Choose the wrong manager (https://www.ignet.gov/sites/default/files/files/FAEC-Presentation-Project-Management-Deficiencies-in-Constructing-the-SSTC.pdf). 
4. Turn a blind eye to your own (Montgomery County) building inspector who found problems with the design before construction began (Report: Problems with Silver Spring Transit Center may have been known years ago | WJLA.com). 
5. Don't inspect the construction (including concrete inspection & testing)--every minute, every day, every construction & inspection activity. 
6. Ignore problems as they arise (severely cracked concrete, etc.) www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DGS-BDC/Resources/Files/SS/509974/SSTC-Report-March-15-2013.pdf

"On June 9, the County Council appointed the law firm Saul Ewing, LLP—known for its work litigating Boston’s “Big Dig” project--to represent the county in legal issues concerning the transit center."

to be continued...

Silver Spring Transit Center 
Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center 
Montgomery County, MD 
WMATA 
Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) 
Federal Transit Administration (FTA) 
public-private partnership 
Purple Line