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.
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
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