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
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