Cracks

As a civil engineer, I was shocked when I read KCE’s March 15, 2013 structural evaluation report for the Silver Spring Transit Center. I was shocked to see extensive cracking in slabs, beams, girders and columns. I was shocked to learn that the 315 ft. wide by 580 ft. long SSTC doesn’t have any expansion joints.

"The size of the concrete structure whether it is a bridge, a highway, or a building does not make it immune to the effects of temperature. ... Severe problems develop in massive structures where heat cannot be dissipated. Thermal contraction on the concrete’s surface without a corresponding change in its interior temperature will cause a thermal differential and potentially lead to cracking. Temperature changes that result in shortening will crack concrete members that are held in place or restrained by another part of the structure, internal reinforcement or by the ground. ... Joints are the most effective way to control cracking."                                                         http://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/courses/ce584/concrete/library/cracking/thermalexpansioncontraction/thermalexpcontr.htm

Even though I understand exactly what the KCE report is saying, I am surprised by the report’s indirect wording that the SSTC doesn’t have any expansion joints (e.g. pgs. 5, 14, 19, 36, 46).

Why didn’t KCE come right out and say it: “The 315 ft. wide by 580 ft. long SSTC doesn’t have any expansion joints despite the fact that WMATA’s design and construction standards, to which the SSTC was supposed to have been designed and constructed, require expansion joints to be located no more than 100 ft. apart.”?

One thing is clear. Cracking isn't restricted to only the slabs. Beams, girders and columns are cracked too.

The entire structure is cracked, just as one would expect of a 315 ft. by 580 ft. concrete monolith that doesn't have any expansion joints. 

The average coefficient of expansion/contraction for concrete structures is approximately 0.0000055 inch change in length per inch of total length per degree change in degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures in Washington DC can reach above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer (with the temperature of the surface of the SSTC's exposed concrete deck being tens of degrees greater) and below 20 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter. If the 315 ft. wide by 580 ft. long SSTC was unrestrained, then it would undergo a 1.66 inches change in width and a 3.06 inches change in length with an 80 degree temperature swing. 

But, the SSTC is restrained without expansion joints. Can you imagine the force on the restrained slabs, beams, girders and columns when the 315 ft. wide by 580 ft. long SSTC tries to expand and contract 1.66 inches and 3.06 inches respectively? Enough to make concrete crack! Have you ever tried to crack a 12 inch thick piece of concrete? It takes a LOT of force!

Putting an epoxy overlay on the decks won't stop the deck slabs from cracking. Externally bracing some beams won't stop beams from cracking. Doing nothing to address cracking in girders and columns won't stop them from cracking either. 

The SSTC will continue to crack. Why? Because it gets hot in the summer and cold in the winter, and because the 315 ft. wide by 580 ft. long SSTC is "over-restrained", not allowing it to expand in summer's heat and contract in winter's cold without cracking. Why is the SSTC "over-restrained"? Because the 315 ft. wide by 580 ft. long concrete monolith doesn't have any expansion joints! Simple.

Why don't they retrofit the SSTC to add expansion joints? That's not so simple. The SSTC is one, giant, massive, concrete, monolith. If it had expansion joints (like WMATA design and construction standards require), then it would be at least 24 separate structures with gaps (expansion joints) in between to allow for expansion in the summer and contraction in the winter. 

How does one retrofit a concrete structure that was designed and built as one, massive, concrete monolith into 24 separate structures--after the fact? How would one cut a 4-legged table, permanently anchored to the floor underneath it, into 24 smaller tables without the larger table collapsing in the process? How does one retrofit the SSTC into 24 smaller, separate structures? I have no idea, other than to tear it down and start over. Even if there is a way to retrofit the SSTC with expansion joints no farther than 100 ft. apart (like WMATA design and construction standards require), would it be practical and cost effective to do so? Or, would it be more practical and cheaper to tear the SSTC down and start all over again?

Did Montgomery County review KCE’s report before it was finalized? Did an earlier draft have more direct language stating that the SSTC doesn’t have any expansion joints? Did Montgomery County ask that the direct wording be changed? Did KCE change direct language in an earlier draft not wishing to “bite the hand that feeds them”?

I don’t know the answer to these questions; but, I find it strange that KCE’s report, Montgomery County officials, their paid and unpaid consultants, WMATA, and the news media haven't stated more clearly that the SSTC's severe cracking is the result of its complete lack of expansion joints.

Conspiracy to defraud the public?

Silver Spring Transit Center 

Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center 

Montgomery County MD 

public-private partnership 

crony capitalism 

WMATA 

Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) 

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) 

Purple Line 

Gov. Hogan 

pitiful

Metro plans Sept. 20 opening of problem-plagued Silver Spring Transit Center - The Washington Post

"Metro said that it has 10 days to formally accept the facility, but it doesn't expect any outstanding issues."

What an incredible statement! KCE's March 15, 2013 structural evaluation report, commissioned by Montgomery County and on the county's website, documents that the SSTC's decks, beams, girders and columns are severely cracked. It also says that the 315 ft. by 580 ft. SSTC doesn't have any expansion joints, which WMATA design and construction standards require be placed no farther apart than every 100 feet. Metro did their own report, which is also on Montgomery County's website, that says the same thing.

Of course it's cracked! And, it will continue to crack as long as it continues to be hot in the summer and cold in the winter. The "repairs" don't address the SSTC's total lack of expansion joints (how does one retrofit expansion joints into a hardened concrete monolith that wasn't designed or built with them in the first place?)

"Metro doesn't expect any outstanding issues." Are you kidding? Small wonder that Metro's safety record is as poor as it is!


It just keeps on coming with METRO! Now we learn that WMATA spent $250K on a PR firm to spin its way out of the January smoke death. Part of the PR strategy was to "establish(ing) interim WMATA General Manager Jack Requa as “a leader in control.” Just this month Metro’s Board of Directors gave Interim General Manager Jack Requa the authority to accept the Silver Spring Transit Center from Montgomery County. Pitiful--the blind leading the blind!

Two and a half years of reporting this story and the news media haven't asked Montgomery County or Metro why they haven't addressed the source of the cracks--the SSTC's complete lack of expansion joints--which is identified in the county's and Metro's own reports! Montgomery County's and Metro's handling, and the news media's reporting of this "monumental debacle", have been pitiful.

Why would anyone believe 

anything that this guy says?

Montgomery County's David Dise's self-serving statements (often repeated by Isiah Leggett, George Leventhal, Roger Berliner, et al) are outrageous:

• "The SSTC will absolutely be safe." Is Dise a seer? Nobody knows what other defects may be hidden inside the SSTC's hardened concrete. Such a statement from a public official is both outrageous and irresponsible. 
• Dise says that Montgomery County bears no responsibility for the severely flawed SSTC. Really? (1) Montgomery County non-competitively chose to contract with private companies Parsons Brinckerhoff, Foulger Pratt and Balter Co., even though private companies are selected in open competition for most public works contracts. (2) Montgomery County is owner of record for the SSTC. (3) Montgomery County has responsibility to review and issue permits for all construction in Montgomery County. (4) Montgomery County is construction manager for the SSTC with a team of full-time County employees on site during construction. Dise's public statements that Montgomery County has no responsibility for the "monumental debacle" SSTC are both absurd and irresponsible. 
• “We are mostly pleased with knowing that the problems that have been identified have been completely repaired; that it is a safe and durable facility that will be enjoyed for years to come and be a significant component of the regional public transportation network,” said David Dise, the county’s director of general services. “We are now delivering what we had intended to deliver all along, which is a safe and reliable facility.” (1) "...the problems that have been identified have been completely repaired." Nonsense! The source of the SSTC's cracking--its complete lack of expansion joints--has been identified--by both Montgomery County's and WMATA's reports (on Montgomery County's website)--but, the SSTC's complete lack of expansion joints has not been addressed by "repairs". The SSTC will continue to crack without expansion joints. (2) "...safe and reliable facility." That's Dise's opinion. It is irresponsible for a public official to make such statements without qualifying them as his opinions, and not facts.
• "Dise said the county is confident that it has thoroughly addressed the problems." "The county" is confident? It's bad enough for a public official to express his opinion in public without qualifying it as his opinion; it's even worse for a public official to state that his opinion is shared by all. 
• “We will hold those whom we believe to be accountable for this problem liable for the cost of making the repairs,” Dise said. Dise the Seer can not only look into the future; but also, Dise the judge, jury and executioner says: "We will hold those whom we believe to be accountable for this problem liable for the cost of making the repairs." Leggett, the law professor, knows that it's the court that decides who will be held liable for the cost of making repairs, not Dise or county government; but, Leggett, Leventhal, Berliner, et al publicly repeat Dise's outrageous lies. 

The question is: Why do Leggett, Leventhal, Berliner, et al publicly repeat Dise's outrageous public statements? Don't they know better? Or do they know better, and repeat them anyway?




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

The untold stories of the Silver Spring Transit Center

In a March 19, 2013 article the Washington Post reported that the nearly complete, but yet-to-be-opened, Silver Spring Transit Center is severely cracked. The article contains a hotlink to a March 15, 2013 Structural Evaluation Report for the SSTC. 

During the past two and a half years there have been hundreds of news media (print, TV, radio, internet) reports for the still unopened SSTC. (Many of the Washington Post's articles have been under the heading of "Maryland Politics".) 

All of the many news media reports (print, TV, radio, internet) have dutifully reported statements from Montgomery County's executive (Isiah Leggett), council (notably George Leventhal and Roger Berliner) and staff (notably David Dise). 

None of the many news media reports have investigated the accuracy and veracity of these statements, or asked probing questions that are normally expected in news media coverage of an important local story. For example:

• Why did Montgomery County non-competitively select the SSTC's private engineer (Parsons Brinckerhoff), builder (Foulger Pratt) and inspector (Balter Co.), when private contractors for most public works projects are selected in open competition? (The short answer is that the SSTC is a public-private partnership, which permits sole source selection of private companies for public works projects. The question that should be asked Montgomery County is "Why these particular private engineer, builder and inspector?") 
  
• Why does Montgomery County and its paid and pro bono consultants insist that the SSTC is safe, particularly in light of the many serious design and construction flaws identified in the March 15, 2013 structural evaluation report, and that there may be many more uncovered design and construction flaws hidden inside the SSTC's hardened and cracked concrete shell?
• Why doesn't the 315 ft. wide by 580 ft. long SSTC have any expansion/contraction joints, when expansion/contraction joints are standard items for parking garages and bridges, and WMATA design and construction standards (to which the SSTC was supposed to have been designed and constructed) require that expansion/contraction joints be spaced no more than 100 feet apart?  
  

How on earth could private design engineer (Parsons Brinckerhoff), private builder (Foulger Pratt), private inspector (Balter Co.), construction manager (Montgomery County), future operator (WMATA), local jurisdiction with design and construction review, permitting and construction inspection responsibility and owner of record (Montgomery County), and public funding agencies (Federal Transit Administration and Maryland Transit Administration) all miss, over the course of years while the SSTC was being designed and built, such a basic building necessity as expansion/contraction joints? 

The lack of expansion/contraction joints is likely the major reason why the SSTC cracked during construction and continued to crack during "repairs". Because the SSTC's complete lack of expansion/contraction joints has not been addressed with "repairs" (how does one retrofit a 315 ft. by 580 ft. concrete monolith that was designed and built w/o expansion/contraction joints?), the mammoth SSTC will continue to crack in the future as it tries to expand in summer's heat and contract in winter's cold. 

These are just examples of obvious areas ignored by news media covering the SSTC for the past two and a half years.

We the public have not been told "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" about the SSTC--that may have to wait for the courts. However, if statements made by Montgomery County officials to date, and news media reports, are any indication of future reporting, then we the public may never know "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" about the SSTC.

are everyone's hands dirty?

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

Man up, Montgomery County

Mahatma Gandhi said: “It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.” 

No one likes to admit their mistakes. This is especially true of politicians—and, even more so of some Montgomery County MD politicians.

Face it. The Silver Spring Transit Center is messed up. We’ve all known that from more than two years ago when it was first revealed that the completed, unopened, concrete structure was full of cracks and other design and construction flaws. 

Who’s at fault? 

Using their “bully pulpit”, and cooperating news media (print, TV, radio, internet), Montgomery County politicians have been quick to put all of the blame on the SSTC’s private engineer, builder and inspector. Montgomery County politicians have also been quick to point out that Montgomery County isn’t to blame, even though Montgomery County non-competitively selected the SSTC’s private engineer/designer (Parsons Brinckerhoff), builder/contractor (Foulger Pratt) and inspector (Balter Co.). Design and construction contracts with private companies are selected in open competition for most public works projects; but, Montgomery County was able to non-competitively award private contracts for this federally-funded public works job, because the Silver Spring Transit Center, like the Purple Line, is a public-private partnership. 

Montgomery County politicians have even blamed WMATA for the “monumental debacle” SSTC, because WMATA has balked at taking over the operation and maintenance of the severely flawed SSTC. 

Besides not admitting that Montgomery County’s non-competitive selection of the private engineer, builder and inspector was, in retrospect, a HUGE mistake, Montgomery County politicians don’t accept responsibility that the SSTC is THEIR project, in THEIR jurisdiction, where Montgomery County is responsible for reviewing and approving construction plans, issuing construction permits and monitoring construction as it progresses. Further, Montgomery County was construction manager for the SSTC with a team of full-time county employees, on site, during construction.

Montgomery County’s politicians even reject THEIR OWN inspector general’s report that mistakes were made.

Face it, Montgomery County politicians. Except for Phil Andrews, one of your own who admits that the SSTC is a “monumental debacle”, Montgomery County politicians, and cooperating news media, who aren't telling "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth" about the Silver Spring Transit Center, need to "man up".

politicians Leggett, Leventhal, Berliner, Dise et al

The notion that Montgomery County isn't responsible for the "monumental debacle" SSTC, along with private engineer Parsons Brinckerhoff, private builder Foulger Pratt, private inspector Balter Co., WMATA, the Maryland Transit Administration and the Federal Transit Administration, is absurd. Yet Montgomery County officials have been saying that Montgomery County isn't responsible, and news media have been reporting it, for two and a half years. The time is way past due for all those responsible for the "monumental debacle" SSTC to man up.

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

Gutless

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/train-derailment-creates-a-mess-for-morning-metro-commuters/2015/08/06/d2fead0c-3c38-11e5-9c2d-ed991d848c48_story.html

It is gutless for Metro’s board to have voted to turn over approval authority for the Silver Spring Transit Center to WMATA’s interim general manager. Their (WMATA board’s) names, along with the names of officials from Montgomery County, the Maryland Transit Administration and the Federal Transit Administration, should be prominently displayed on a large dedication plaque affixed to the most visible of the Silver Spring Transit Center’s many cracked columns.

Dedication Plaque

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

Bully Montgomery County

The Silver Spring Transit Center waiting game - The Washington Post

MultiModal
8/1/2015 8:20 PM EDT

Does anyone on the editorial board actually ride the bus? Obviously not with this quote: "A new transit center there that would simplify their trips and provide direct access to Metrorail and MARC trains"
If they did they would know that the only reason our trips were more complicated is because they moved the buses out and up the street to build this hideous monstrosity so many years ago. Before our trips were simple. Now we will have to travel through a garage that is not only structurally compromised, but according to Metro the transit center “already is cracking at an abnormal rate due to construction and design deficiencies.” The reason there are cracks is because there are no expansion joints which were required by Metro. Why shouldn't Metro ask for money in escrow for future repairs? That's not a shakedown. That's an insurance policy because it will continue to crack.

But the Post doesn't really care about the riders and they are trying to bury those facts. They're more interested in PR for those who screwed it up. Was this written by Mr. Baumann? Sure sounds like it.


peretired
3:22 AM EDT

Also, not long after KCE's March 15, 2013 structural evaluation report for the SSTC became public, WMATA's engineers appeared before Montgomery County's council, where Roger Berliner (engineering and construction expert?) accused WMATA of being disingenuous, reneging on their agreement to operate the transit center. Montgomery County has continued to bully WMATA about their concerns, most recently WMATA's interim general manager Jack Requa.

The fact is that anyone who reads even the executive summaries of KCE's and WMATA's reports, both of which are on Montgomery County's website, knows that the SSTC is seriously flawed. Montgomery County's bullying WMATA may get WMATA to back down, but it won't make the serious design and construction flaws go away. As long as it gets hot in the summer and cold in the winter, the SSTC will continue to crack, and patron and non-patron taxpayers alike will foot the bill. (Most of the funding for the SSTC is federal.)

Add taxpayers to the list of those that Montgomery County, WMATA and the media don't care about.

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

spinmeisters

http://www.nbcwashington.com/traffic/transit/Montgomery-County-Leaders-Metro-Resolve-Issues-With-Silver-Spring-Transit-Center-Eye-Fall-Opening-320196621.html

Politicians and the media can spin away “issues”; but, they can’t spin away cracks. The Silver Spring Transit Center cracked during construction; it cracked during “repairs”; and, it will continue to crack--for as long as it gets hot in the summer and cold in the winter.

spinmeisters Leggett, Leventhal, Berliner, Dise et al

Silver Spring Transit Center 

Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center 

Montgomery County MD 

public-private partnership 

WMATA 

Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) 

Purple Line 

Gov. Hogan