Truth is stranger than fiction

Metro board chair violated conflict rules, D.C. inspector general says - The Washington Post

If our reaction to a story about a man who serves as chairman of the board of a large public agency ("public" in the sense of the HUGE amounts of public money that it takes to subsidize it) saying that he doesn't see anything wrong with taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from a private company that does millions of dollars of work for the same public agency doesn't stop us in our tracks (excuse the pun), then we must ask ourselves if we haven't gone completely numb.

Metro board chairman cleared of alleged ethics violation - The Washington Post

"In a Nov. 6 memo to Downey, the ethics committee, made up of four fellow board members, said it had reviewed Downey’s long-term business relationship with engineering giant Parsons Brinckerhoff and 'determined that no additional investigation or action is warranted.'”


What else did you expect?

If it looks like a duck,

swims like a duck,

and quacks like a duck,

then it's a duck.

WMATA 
Mortimer Downey 
ethics 
Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Silver Spring Transit Center 
Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center 
Montgomery County MD 
Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) 
public-private partnership 
crony capitalism 
purple line 
Gov. Hogan 

Politicians make poor sources in engineering and construction matters

As Long-Delayed Maryland Transit Hub Finishes, Project Litigation Starts | ENR

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

Circus

If someone were to ask me to describe in one word what's gone on since March 2013 when the structural report for the Paul S. Sarbanes Silver Spring Transit Center became public, then I would say "circus". 

We've only heard from one side--Montgomery County and WMATA. What the news media (print, TV, radio, internet) have reported is not the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. From the public statements of David Dise, Isiah Leggett, George Leventhal, et al and Jack Requa, it's obvious to me that they, and the news media, don't know squat about engineering and construction. 

What's troubling is the "spin" and the outright false statements that have been widely disseminated from people who should know better. One example of this is the often repeated statement "the SSTC will absolutely be safe". ("...it survived an earthquake." What an idiotic statement! so did lots of structures more than 100 years old! This just proves that David Dise doesn't know anything about construction. And the fact that Isiah Leggett and George Leventhal would repeat it proves that they don't know anything about engineering and construction either.)  

No one can make that claim--a claim that is made even more ludicrous given the March 2013 structural report. Severe design, construction and inspection flaws are documented. "Repairs" didn't address all of them, e.g. the transit center's complete lack of expansion joints. How many more serious, undetected design, construction and inspection flaws may be hidden inside the SSTC's deeply flawed concrete frame? Only Superman knows because only he has x-ray vision that can see clearly through hardened concrete.

Not even the most knowledgeable experts in engineering and construction can make that claim, because none of us are Superman. David Dise should know better and so should Isiah Leggett and George Leventhal. Frankly, I expect that such a ridiculous claim would have "raised flags" with the news media--but apparently not. The rosy picture that Jack Requa, David Dise, Isiah Leggett, George Leventhal, et al have been painting of the state of the transit center should have also raised flags.

It should be obvious to everyone that if David Dise and his Department of General Services had done their job, then cracking and other major design, construction and inspection flaws would have been addressed before the SSTC was complete. It should be equally obvious that David Dise has spent the last 2.5 years making CYA statements to the news media, and Isiah Leggett and George Leventhal have been parroting Dise's statements. 

Politicians "spin", and, with help from the news media, they get away with it. That has certainly been the case for the last 2.5 years with the Silver Spring Transit Center.

We've not heard from Parsons Brinckerhoff, Foulger Pratt or Balter Co. I suspect that they're saving their talking for court. Court will be long and tedious with testimony from both sides--some of it technical. However, some things should be obvious even to those who don't have a background in engineering and construction--like "the Silver Spring Transit Center will absolutely be safe."

Montgomery County and WMATA seek $166 million in their lawsuit against Parsons Brinckerhoff, Foulger Pratt and Balter Company. $25.8 million is Metro's "share". That leaves $140.2 million for Montgomery County, less court costs, Sam Ewing's fees, private experts' testimony, time spent by county employees--testifying, preparing for testimony, debriefing, etc. Let's see how the county makes out. After all, Isiah Leggett is a legal expert, and numbers, independently verified by a reputable national auditor, don't lie.




Silver Spring Transit Center 
Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center 
Montgomery County MD 
WMATA
public-private partnership 
crony capitalism
Purple Line 
Gov. Hogan

Far from over

Now that the Paul S. Sarbanes Silver Spring Transit Center is open, what's ahead? Lots.

First, there's the structure itself. Plagued with problems before it opened, will it continue to be plagued with problems in the future? Will "chunks of concrete" that fell off the structure before it opened continue to fall off? It may take a few winters to do so, but I don't think that it'll be too long before the first "chunk of concrete" comes crashing down. We'll see.

The other thing to watch is the lawsuits. It's incomprehensible to me how the major players in this project, Montgomery County (owner, construction manager, and responsible for reviewing and approving all construction in the county), WMATA (future owner and operator and responsible for assuring that the design and construction meets WMATA standards), Parsons Brinckerhoff (engineer), Foulger Pratt (general contractor), and Balter Company (materials testing and construction inspector and special quality control inspector), could have screwed up this project so badly. 

Hopefully, we'll find out more as the lawsuits progress; but, IMHO they're all responsible. With that many people on the job, the serious design, construction and inspection flaws should never have happened. This is particularly true of the transit center's complete lack of expansion joints. WMATA's design and construction standards call for expansion joints to be spaced no more than 100 feet apart. How did WMATA miss that? How did Parsons Brinckerhoff miss it? How did Montgomery County miss it? Foulger Pratt? Balter Co.? There's no excuse; none of them were doing their job.

Not to be forgotten are the "money guys"--the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA). Certainly the "money guys" have some responsibility in making sure that the investment that the public is making is worthwhile. Or, did they just blindly dole out the taxpayers' money with no regard to what the taxpayers were buying?

Stay tuned. Answers may be coming.

Silver Spring Transit Center 

Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center 

Montgomery County MD

WMATA

Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) 

public-private partnership

crony capitalism 

Purple Line 

Gov. Hogan 

Think about it

Montgomery County reviews and approves all construction, public and private, in the county, and issues construction and occupancy permits. For the Silver Spring Transit Center, Montgomery County's own project, the county was construction manager with a team of full time county employees on site during construction. 

• A March 15, 2013 report documents serious design, construction and inspection flaws with the Silver Spring Transit Center. 
• The SSTC's columns, girders, beams and deck slabs are severely cracked.     
  
• A May 2, 2013 report provides WMATA's consultant's evaluation of the SSTC.
• The 315 ft. wide by 580 ft. long SSTC has no expansion joints, despite WMATA's design and construction standards that call for expansion joints to be located no farther apart than every 100 feet.
• The SSTC was supposed to have been designed and built in accordance with WMATA's design and construction standards.
• "Repairs" to the SSTC do not address the SSTC's complete lack of expansion joints.
• Without expansion joints the SSTC will continue to crack in the future.
• An April 15, 2014 report by Montgomery County's Inspector General documents Montgomery County's deficiencies in managing the SSTC's design, construction, and inspection.
• On August 24, 2015 Montgomery County and WMATA filed a lawsuit against Montgomery County's handpicked builder, engineer and inspector, accusing them of negligence and breach of contract.
• More than four years overdue and $50+ million over budget, the SSTC opens to the public on Sunday, September 20, 2015.

And yet, Montgomery County's David Dise, Isiah Leggett, George Leventhal, Roger Berliner, et al claim that Montgomery County bears no responsibility in the SSTC's severe design, construction, inspection and management flaws. Really? Think about it.

Many of those who live and/or work in the many highrises in Silver Spring, Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Rockville will be watching the SSTC and following the lawsuit closely.

This is a comment from a Washington Post article.
Personally speaking, if this prediction happens, and someone(s) gets hurt or killed, then I wouldn't want to be David Dise, Isiah Leggett, George Leventhal, Roger Berliner, et al, or WMATA, or one of the many news reporters (print, TV, radio, internet) who supposedly "covered" this story, or one of the many transit center/Montgomery County/Democrat zealots (one who even suggested opening the transit center in March 2013 without addressing the widespread cracking), or, needless to say, the SSTC's private company engineer, builder or inspector. I hope that "chunks of concrete", that were reported months ago to have fallen from the SSTC, don't hit someone(s); but, the laws of physics are unrelenting.


"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." - Abraham Lincoln

except after March 2013, when David Dise, Isiah Leggett, George Leventhal, Roger Berliner, et al have fooled all of the news media all of the time.



Silver Spring Transit Center 
Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center 
Montgomery County MD 
WMATA 
Federal Transit Administration (FTA) 

Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) 
public-private partnership 
crony capitalism 
Purple Line 
Gov. Hogan 

Taxpayers, toast your brand new purchase with a cookie

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

All are invited. 

Funding for the Silver Spring Transit Center is 36% Montgomery County, 11% State of Maryland and 53% Federal (that's everybody!). 

Celebrate your brand new purchase with a cookie.

That's the way that the SSTC cookie crumbles!

Can you recall a brand new public works project (school, library, community center, etc.) opening on a Sunday? What are the politicians thinking?!? 

Dedication plaque

Taxpayers, your buying the Silver Spring Transit Center is like paying more than retail for a brand new custom sports car, and getting this in return:

Congratulations! Such a deal!

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