status report

Let’s see what we have so far:

1. An under-construction, overdue, over-budget, seriously flawed, Silver Spring Transit Center.

2. A year old report (commissioned by Montgomery County) that says that the severe flaws (extensive cracking, slabs more than an inch thinner than what they’re supposed to be, exposed reinforcement, missing reinforcement, 250 under-designed beams, understrength and overstressed concrete, suspect concrete test reports, etc.) are the result of errors and omissions by the SSTC’s builder/contractor, engineer/designer and concrete inspector/tester.

3. $10+ million (so far) in repairs to the $120+ million (so far) SSTC, including a latex concrete overlay scheduled to be installed as soon as freezing weather has passed.

Now, let’s see what we don’t have:

1. Expansion joints in the 315 ft. by 580 ft. public, open-air structure (an obvious omission).

2. An opening date.

3. A final price tag.

4. Future operation and maintenance costs, which will be high, given the SSTC's serious design, construction and concrete inspection/testing flaws. 

5. An independent (not involved in the project to-date or paid for by Montgomery County) evaluation of the SSTC’s safety.

6. An independent investigation into Montgomery County’s role as owner and overseer for the project, including selection of the SSTC's contractor/builder, engineer/designer and concrete inspector/tester and the County’s failure to address serious flaws until construction is almost complete.

7. Anything from the Federal Transit Administration or the Maryland Mass Transit Administration that explains their failure to protect the public’s investment in the SSTC. (More than half of the funds for the SSTC are federal funds.)

8. Public meetings where Montgomery County explains to those who are paying for the SSTC (the public) what they’re doing (repairs) and why.

9. An opportunity for the public to ask their questions and make their comments on the public record.

One would think that with all of the media (print, TV, radio, internet) around (the SSTC is within a few hundred yards of the DC/MD line), with their self-proclaimed “in-depth reporting” and “probing questions”, that we’d know more than we do. ... Not so.

Baseless Self Serving Statements

http://www.wtop.com/654/3587776/Purple-Line-Officials-say-when-not-if

What can we learn from the Silver Spring Transit Center?

At one session on design and development, someone asked what lessons can be learned from the delays with the Silver Spring Transit Center, Silver Line and D.C. Streetcar that can be applied to the Purple Line.

"I believe the project will open on-time and on-budget. If there are delays, it will be on the company's dime," says Madden, referring to whichever company is involved in the public-private partnership.

MTA officials hope construction will begin in 2015 and passenger service will begin in 2020.

"We need to restore some trust with the public. We need to ensure ahead of time that the government and the contractors are very much on the same page. We need to make sure through computer modeling and just dialogue to make sure all the kinks are worked out before the shovels hit the ground," says Leventhal.

Other officials tell WTOP that state agencies pay close attention to what is happening in Silver Spring and Tysons and are confident the Purple Line will be well constructed and properly inspected.


"...close attention..."? 
"...confident the Purple Line will be well constructed and properly inspected..."?

• Did WTOP follow up?
• Did WTOP ask "probing questions" and challenge these baseless self-serving statements with "in-depth reporting"? 
• Did WTOP ask how a public-private partnership would serve the public so much better with the Purple Line when it has failed the public so miserably with the Silver Spring Transit Center?
• Did WTOP ask MTA officials specifically why "state agencies" are "confident the Purple Line will be well constructed and properly inspected"? what specific steps are being taken to provide the "close attention" to the Purple Line that was not paid to the Silver Spring Transit Center?
• Did WTOP ask Madden specifically why he believes that "the project will open on-time and on-budget. If there are delays, it will be on the company's dime"? Specifically, why he believes that the public will not be stuck with future cost overruns? Specifically how he's able to look into the future and predict how the courts will decide a case like the Silver Spring Transit Center?
• Did WTOP ask Leventhal specifically how they are going to "restore some trust with the public ... (and) ensure ahead of time that the government and the contractors are very much on the same page ... (and) make sure all the kinks are worked out before the shovels hit the ground." ...   What are the specifics that distinguish these statements from other baseless self-serving statements?
• Did WTOP point out to Madden and Leventhal the difference between facts and opinions ("I believe...")?

Apparently not.

missed the point ... again

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/new-duncan-video-calls-for-leggetts-final-jeopardy-answer-on-silver-spring-transit-center/2014/03/20/9df39e50-b02b-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.html


"Officials say workers need an average of at least 40 degrees to effectively pour a new latex-modified concrete layer on road surfaces to treat cracks and leaks."

This misses the point. The real question isn't "when will it be done?" The real questions are: Is the latex concrete overlay needed? If so, why? Will it fix the problem? If not, then why not? 

The SSTC is severely flawed; there is extensive cracking in supported slabs, beams, girders and columns, likely caused by the SSTC's complete lack of expansion joints. This is clear from KCE's report that was commissioned by Montgomery County and can be viewed and downloaded on Montgomery County's website. Standard construction practice requires expansion joints in structures exposed to temperature changes. WMATA 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 feet apart. The 315 ft. by 580 ft. SSTC has none. A concrete overlay will not fix the underlying problem--extensive cracking caused by the complete lack of expansion joints.

The questions at the end of the video are relevant: Is the SSTC safe? And, how much will it cost? Total costs include future operations and maintenance costs, which will be high according to WMATA, because of the SSTC's numerous design, construction and concrete inspection and testing flaws. Other costs include extras (above original design, inspection and construction contracts), repairs, outside engineering and legal fees, future court costs, and Montgomery County's administrative costs to-date and in the future.

Time's up

http://www.mymcmedia.org/duncan-releases-new-silver-spring-transit-center-video/

cute... 

The real issue isn't so much that the Silver Spring Transit Center is way overdue (timeline); the real issue is that the SSTC is seriously flawed:  

• no expansion joints 
• extensive cracking 
• slabs that are more than an inch thinner than what they're supposed to be
• exposed reinforcement
• missing reinforcement
• under-designed beams
• understrength and overstressed concrete
• etc. 

The real questions come at the end of the video: 

• Is the SSTC safe (according to experts NOT involved in the project to date and NOT paid for by Montgomery County)? 

• How much will the SSTC cost the public? ALL costs to-date and future costs, including:
• contract cost
• extras
• outside engineering and legal fees
• repairs
• future operations and maintenance costs
• court costs
• Montgomery County's administrative costs
• etc. 

Time's up. It's passed due time for answers.

Lessons from the present

Has the Silver Spring Transit Center debacle taught us anything?

1. Engineering 101: Structures exposed to temperature changes need expansion joints.

We’re all aware of what happens to some water mains in winter when it's cold. They break:

And in summer when some roads get hot. They buckle:

Lesson: Don’t design and build a 315 ft. by 580 ft. structure, that's exposed to temperature changes, without expansion joints.

2. Economics 101: Sole source purchasing is not the way to buy public goods and services. 

Most consumers understand that competition benefits consumers—the more the competition, the better the quality and/or prices. Sole source purchasing, permitted with public-private partnerships, sticks it to consumers (the public, you and me), because there is no competition.

Lesson: Government, don't stick it to the public. 

3. Horticulture 101: Rotten lemons come in all shapes and sizes. 

Lesson: Rotten lemons aren't good regardless of their shape or size.

4. History 101: Not all voters are fools.

"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

Lesson: Some voters who are aren't fools are watching.

5. Common Sense 101: Make sure that someone(s) is minding the store.

Lesson: Government, who's minding the store?


It all seems pretty simple.

keep your eye on the ball

http://www.thesentinel.com/mont/sports/County-executive-candidates3-13-2014

• It isn't about politics.
• It isn't about the race for Montgomery County Executive.

• It's about the severely flawed, over-budget, yet-to-be-opened Silver Spring Transit Center.
• It's about "widespread cracking in the slabs, beams and girders on the second and third floors of the building."
• It's about slabs that are more than one inch thinner than the 10 inches thick called for in construction documents.
• It's about no expansion joints in the 315 ft. by 580 ft. SSTC, even though standard construction practice and WMATA construction standards call for expansion joints. According to WMATA's criteria, to which the SSTC was supposed to have been designed and built, expansion joints are to be spaced no more than 100 ft. apart.
• It's about 250 underdesigned beams.
• It's about watered down, understrength concrete, and lack of heat during curing.
• It's about exposed reinforcement and missing reinforcement.
• It's about suspect concrete test reports that show exactly the same test readings.
• It's about why Montgomery County, with its fulltime, on-site, construction management team and periodic visits by other County employees, didn't deal with the extensive concrete cracking sooner, before the SSTC was almost complete.
• It's about how and why Montgomery County selected the SSTC's contractor/builder, engineer/designer and concrete inspection/testing firm and Special Quality Inspector.
• It's about why Montgomery County is proceeding with tens of millions of dollars in repairs to the brand new, $120+ million (so far) yet-to-be-opened SSTC without holding public meetings to explain to the public what the County is doing and why, and to allow the public to ask questions and make their comments on the public record.

It's easy to become distracted with a 3-ring circus. We need to keep our eyes on the ball; we need snwers to our questions, including: 

• Is the SSTC safe? 
• Why has so much public money been wasted on the SSTC?
• Will, as WMATA's engineers claim, future operation and maintainence costs for the SSTC be exorbitantly high because of the SSTC's numerous construction flaws, resulting in even more public money being wasted on the SSTC?

Do you believe in the tooth fairy?

Do you believe in the tooth fairy? Easter bunny? Santa Claus? Public-private partnerships?

The seriously flawed, over-budget, overdue, $120+ million Silver Spring Transit Center is a public-private partnership. Tens of millions in repairs are being spent on the severely cracked, under-designed, problem-plagued, glorified parking garage before it even opens. 

The contractor/builder for the SSTC was selected by Montgomery County MD, instead of the SSTC being bid for construction, as has been standard practice for public works projects for decades. In choosing the SSTC's engineer/designer and concrete tester/inspector and Special Quality Inspector, Montgomery County didn't follow the decades' old, tried-and-true process for selecting professional service firms either. In the decades' old process, a request for qualifications from qualified professional services firms is advertised publicly. Dozens of firms submit their qualifications. The firms are evaluated, shortlisted and interviewed. The firm deemed most qualified is then selected to submit a detailed work and cost proposal. A professional services contract for the project is then negotiated with that firm. The SSTC's contractor/builder, engineer/designer and concrete testing and inspection firm and Special Quality Inspector were selected using public-private partnership, instead of the normal competitive procurement processes that have been used for public works projects for decades.

Funding for the SSTC is 53% federal (FTA), 11% State (MMTA) and 36% Montgomery County. How much of the $120+ million spent so far, and the tens of millions of dollars spent in repairs so far, do you think that the public has saved because Montgomery County used the noncompetitive, public-private partnership to select the contractor/builder, the engineer/designer and the concrete inspection/testing firm and Special Quality Inspector for the SSTC? ... What’s that you say? ... “a lot”? ... “some”? ... "it would have cost the same (noncompetitive and comptetitive)"? ... I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I’d like to sell you.

FTA's non-answer to my question

A MONTH after asking my question, this is what I get:

FTA Contact Us Tool Submission Response  
From  Automated Email Notification <FTA> fta.sqlexecserv@dot.gov
To  rkoenigsc 
Thu, Mar 6, 2014 4:47 pm

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE. This is an automatically generated email from FTA's Contact Us Tool. Contact information is located at the end of this message. 

Thank you for your Contact Us Submission on the FTA website. The following is FTA's response to your question. 

Answer: Please contact Melissa Barlow from our region 3 office. Her contact information is (202) 219-3565. Thank you,

Question: I am a retired civil engineer. My question concerns the Silver Spring Transit Center in Montgomery County, MD. 53% of the funding for the SSTC is being provided by FTA and 11% by MMTA. In March 2013 the County reported that it had contracted with local Washington, D.C. engineering firm KCE to evaluate extensive cracking in the yet-to-be-opened Silver Spring Transit Center. KCE's report attributes the extensive cracking to errors and omissions by the SSTC's builder/contractor Foulger Pratt, the engineer/designer Parsons Brinkerhoff and the concrete tester/inspector and special quality inspector Balter Co. KCE's report addresses other serious flaws: slabs more than an inch thinner than the 10 inches thick slabs called for in construction documents, exposed reinforcement, missing reinforcement and other construction, design and inspection and testing flaws. Since release of the KCE report last March, other flaws have been discovered: 250 beams that are under-designed, leaks, etc. The County intends to add a two inch thick latex concrete overlay to the SSTC in spring 2014 after freezing temperatures have passed. Missing from numerous media reports and public statements from Montgomery County officials is an announcement for a public meeting(s) where those paying for the SSTC are given the opportunity to ask County officials our questions and to make our comments for the record. Why? Why hasn’t FTA required public meetings to allow paying citizens to provide their input?

Unless otherwise specified, this message is being sent by an individual employee in an effort to provide a rapid response to an email inquiry and may not represent official FTA or DOT policy. Individuals seeking formal determinations or opinions are invited to submit their requests in writing to the agency.

Federal Transit Administration 
Office of Communications & Congressional Affairs
East Building, 5TH Floor 
1200 New Jersey Ave SE 
Washington, DC 20590

If you feel that this response does not completely answer your question, please use this link http://ftawebprod.fta.dot.gov/ContactUsTool/Public/VerifyEmail.aspx?Source=Email&SubmissionID=7769 to ask a follow up question within two weeks.

If you have any difficulty accessing the Contact Us Tool, please contact DOT IT Services at 1-866-466-5221. 


"If you feel that this response does not completely answer your question..."   ...   Heck, "Please contact Melissa Barlow from our region 3 office..." doesn't answer my question at all!

Here's my "follow-up" (submitted using the attached link):

"One month after submitting my question, "Please contact Melissa Barlow from our region 3 office..." is a non-answer. Answer the question. You have my name and my email address. If you want Melissa Barlow to answer my question, then you can forward my question to her and she can email me FTA's answer. Time is of the essence. Montgomery County is planning on wasting more federal money on the SSTC by pouring a two inch modified concrete overlay when freezing weather has passed, which is soon. The SSTC's severe cracking is likely caused by the complete lack of expansion joints in the 315 ft. by 580 ft. structure. The overlay won't fix the underlying problem (no expansion joints). The SSTC is a big waste of federal money. Those who are paying for the SSTC deserve the opportunity to have their questions answered and their comments recorded on the public record." 

An error message followed:

"An error occurred during the processing of your last request. This could be caused by a system bug or illegal input values. An e-mail with the details of the error has been sent to the system administrator for analysis.

If you experience a problem while accessing or using the Contact Us Tool, or have a question about the operation of the Contact Us Tool, you can contact the Customer Support Center for information or assistance by:  
Phone: 5-HELP, (202)-385-4357 or 1-(866)-466-5221"  

SNAFU... FUBAR... I'm not holding my breath. This looks like the old federal run-around to me.

nice try--no kewpie doll

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/county-exec-candidate-duncan-says-time-for-answers-on-silver-spring-transit-center/2014/03/06/a01c4b20-a561-11e3-84d4-e59b1709222c_story.html

“His (Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett) spokesman, Patrick Lacefield, said in a statement: ’This is nothing more than the previous County Executive playing politics by seeking publicity for his campaign.’”

No, Mr. Lacefield, you’re wrong. It’s about a LOT more than politics. It’s about the $120+ million, over-budget, yet-to-be-opened, seriously flawed Silver Spring Transit Center, and how it got to be that way. It’s about lack of expansion joints and extensive concrete cracking. It’s about slabs that are more than an inch thinner than what’s called for in the plans. It’s about watered down concrete and multiple concrete test reports that show identical test results. It’s about 250 under-designed beams. It’s about how Montgomery County chose the contractor/builder, instead of bidding the project for construction, as has been standard practice for public works projects for decades. It's about how the County chose the engineer/designer and the concrete tester/inspector and Special Quality Inspector in a different way (public-private partnership) than is normally used in school and other public works projects. It's about why Montgomery County, with its full-time, on-site construction management team of County employees, and periodic visits by other County and WMATA personnel, didn't deal with the severe concrete cracking earlier, before construction was almost compete. It’s about spending the public's money, and Montgomery County not briefing the public about the tens of millions of dollars in repairs that are needed before the brand new Silver Spring Transit Center even opens. It’s about not facing the public and answering their questions about the SSTC’s safety and future maintenance costs, and taking the public's comments on the public record.

Nice try, Mr. Lacefield--no kewpie doll.

Yes, Mr. Duncan, it's time for answers.

Federal Transit Administration: SNAFU? FUBAR? or both?

Today, March 6, 2014, I received my third "automatically generated email" response to a question that I asked the Federal Transit Administration on February 8, 2014 using the "Contact Us" feature on the FTA's website:

From  Automated Email Notification <FTA> fta.sqlexecserv@dot.govhide details  
To  rkoenigsc 
Thu, Mar 6, 2014 12:00 am

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE. This is an automatically generated email from FTA's Contact Us Tool. Contact information is located at the end of this message. 

Question: I am a retired civil engineer. My question concerns the Silver Spring Transit Center in Montgomery County, MD. 53% of the funding for the SSTC is being provided by FTA and 11% by MMTA. In March 2013 the County reported that it had contracted with local Washington, D.C. engineering firm KCE to evaluate extensive cracking in the yet-to-be-opened Silver Spring Transit Center. KCE's report attributes the extensive cracking to errors and omissions by the SSTC's builder/contractor Foulger Pratt, the engineer/designer Parsons Brinkerhoff and the concrete tester/inspector and special quality inspector Balter Co. KCE's report addresses other serious flaws: slabs more than an inch thinner than the 10 inches thick slabs called for in construction documents, exposed reinforcement, missing reinforcement and other construction, design and inspection and testing flaws. Since release of the KCE report last March, other flaws have been discovered: 250 beams that are under-designed, leaks, etc. The County intends to add a two inch thick latex concrete overlay to the SSTC in spring 2014 after freezing temperatures have passed. Missing from numerous media reports and public statements from Montgomery County officials is an announcement for a public meeting(s) where those paying for the SSTC are given the opportunity to ask County officials our questions and to make our comments for the record. Why? Why hasn’t FTA required public meetings to allow paying citizens to provide their input?

The answer to your question requires additional research. We are currently working towards providing an answer to your question and will be in contact with you soon.

If you have any difficulty accessing the Contact Us Tool, please contact DOT IT Services at 1-866-466-5221.

I received my first "automatically generated email" on Feb. 8. It acknowledged that the FTA received my question.

I received my second "automatically generated email" (update) on Feb. 28. Except for the date, it is identical to the "automatically generated email" that I received today (March 6).

Is anybody home at the FTA? Or is the FTA like the IRS--they don't answer questions from citizens. 

The US government is on autopilot. Small wonder that millions of dollars have been and are being wasted on the Silver Spring Transit Center.

Decades ago US sailors developed two acronyms that describe the situation with the federal government and the Silver Spring Transit Center perfectly: (1) SNAFU: Situation Normal--All Fouled Up ("cleaned up" version) and (2) FUBAR: Fouled Up Beyond ALL Recognition" ("cleaned up" version).

Accountability

Perhaps more disturbing than the seriously flawed, over-budget, yet-to-be-opened, $120+ million Silver Spring Transit Center itself are the public statements of Montgomery County politicians, the failure of the media to report the story “in-depth” and the failure of the taxpaying public to hold Montgomery County, the media and themselves accountable for their failures.

Hundreds of stories have been written about the ill-fated SSTC since we learned a year ago that it is severely flawed, over-budget and in need of millions of dollars in repairs before it even opens. Numerous press releases and public statements by Montgomery County officials regarding the safety of the SSTC, and absolving Montgomery County of any responsibility for the disaster, have gone unchallenged by the media. Montgomery County presses ahead with millions of dollars in repairs to the brand new transit center without explaining to the public what they are doing and why, and the media and the public sit idly by.

We have no one to blame but ourselves if Montgomery County officials succeed in “spinning” the facts and diverting responsibility for the ill-fated SSTC from themselves. Likewise, we have no one to blame but ourselves if the media fails to provide “in-depth coverage” and to ask “probing questions”, that the media so highly touts.

We are to blame if public money is wasted, if the media fails to report the story “in-depth” and to ask "probing questions", and if Montgomery County remains unaccountable for its actions, because we let them get away with it.

"All that is needed for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing."

Edmund Burke

smell test

Montgomery County selected Parsons Brinkerhoff to design the Silver Spring Transit Center, Foulger Pratt to build it and Balter Company to perform concrete testing and inspection and to serve as Special Quality Inspector--not in open competition--but, as a public-private partnership. 

More than half of the funding for the $120+ million Silver Spring Transit Center is federal funds (administered by the Federal Transit Administration). US citizens from all 50 states and territories are paying for the SSTC.

Traditionally, public works projects are bid for construction in an open process. Bids are opened and read publicly. The low bid is the winning bid (unless the low bid is deemed unresponsive in meeting basic project requirements set forth in construction documents—contract plans, specifications, etc.). Montgomery County selected Foulger Pratt to build the SSTC in a closed (public-private partnership) process, not the traditional, open, competitive process for selecting a builder for a public works project.

Traditionally, the process for selecting design professionals for public works projects includes: (1) an open, public Request For Proposal in which all qualified firms are invited to submit their professional qualifications to design the project, (2) shortlist—a panel of County employees typically selects the 3 to 5 most qualified firms to interview, (3) typically, the panel of County employees interviews each firm on its shortlist and selects the firm that they believe is most qualified to do the work (based on their initial qualifications submission and their interview), (4) the selected firm prepares a detailed work proposal, including manhours and cost and (5) the County negotiates a contract with the selected professional services firm. For the SSTC, Montgomery County chose Parsons Brinkerhoff to design the SSTC and Balter Company to provide concrete inspection and testing services in a closed (public-private partnership) process, not the normal, open, competitive process.

Do you think that US citizens from all 50 states and territories should pay for the seriously flawed, over-budget, overdue $120+ million SSTC, that is undergoing $10+ million in repairs before it even opens, when Montgomery County selected the builder/contractor, the engineer/designer and the concrete inspector/tester and Special Quality Inspector on its own, using a closed, noncompetitive process (public-private partnership), rather than the traditional, open, competitive process? 

Does this pass your smell test?

If buildings could talk...

http://www.silverspringincorporated.com/2014/03/satireday-silver-spring-transit-center-gains-sentience-self-awareness/

You heard wrong. 

The Silver Spring Transit Center didn't say: “What… is… love?” 

It said: "Help... me!"

"I'm cracked and weak... my guts (reinforcement) are exposed... Some of my skeleton (reinforcement) is missing... I'm soooooo thin... (slabs more than an inch less thick than they're supposed to be) ... The food that they gave me (concrete) was watered down... When I was just days old, they left me unprotected in the freezing cold without heat to cure my concrete... Now they're going to add even more weight to my thin, weak and severely cracked frame (two inch thick latex concrete overlay)... Where were those who were supposed to be watching me when I was formed?... (Montgomery County project staff, onsite construction management team, building inspectors, in-house engineers, etc.,  Concrete and Special Quality Inspector (Balter Co.), Foulger Pratt, Parsons Brinkerhoff, WMATA, Maryland Mass Transit Administration, Federal Transit Administration, politicians) ... Where are those who $upported me? (politician$, Montgomery County, $tate of Maryland and U$ taxpayer$, the media, METRO rider$) ... What is to become of me?... What is my future?... Will I collapse?... or die of neglect?... before I'm even born? (opened) ... They fight over me... I'm an orphan now... I hear that I'm going to Court to determine my future... Will I be a foster transit center?... Oh, woe is me."

"Please... help... me."

It's time to put the kibosh on repairs to the yet-to-be-opened, severely flawed SSTC

Enough is enough!

Pretty soon Montgomery County will press ahead with adding a two inch thick latex concrete overlay to the severely flawed SSTC. "Why?" you ask. Good question--too bad that we can't get an answer.

Montgomery County hasn't held any public meetings to explain to the paying public what they are doing and why. More than half the funding for the SSTC is federal funding; but, Montgomery County doesn't answer our questions or take our comments on the public record.

The fact is that the SSTC's extensive concrete cracking is most likely the result of the SSTC not having any expansion joints. Standard construction practice and WMATA criteria (to which the SSTC was supposed to have been designed and constructed) require that expansion joints be placed no more than 100 feet apart. The 315 ft. by 580 ft. SSTC has none.

Why is Montgomery County pressing ahead with adding a two inch latex concrete overlay when it won't fix the underlying problem (extensive concrete cracking caused by no expansion joints)? I want an answer to my question. You should want answers to your questions too. And, your comments and mine should be recorded on the public record. Until they are, there should be no more repairs to the brand new, yet-to-be-opened, and severely flawed SSTC.

Be alert about Silver Spring Transit Center

http://www.gazette.net/article/20140219/OPINION/140219269/1014/be-alert-about-silver-spring-transit-center

"Now that the election season is well underway we can expect to hear plenty of political talk about the Silver Spring Transit Center — about who is at fault, etc.

Meanwhile the county is in private negotiations with the various contractors, WMATA and other parties regarding fixing that structure’s serious problems.

Citizens need to be alert because in the next few months we might anticipate a deal being reached that could undercut future taxpayers.

No person knows whether the planned fixes will work, meaning fixes that would enable the transit center to last for 50 years. The fixes that have been arrived at have not been technically justified to the public, and have not undergone independent engineering review, unlike the fixes to the San Francisco Bay Bridge problem.

County politicians up for re-election know that the taxpayers will not want to pay for any future failures that may need fixing in the out-years. Those problems are not our fault. Politicians seeking re-election say that won’t happen. The county executive himself has publicly stated that he knows that he needs to have the contractor(s) put up some type of financial assurance to pay for any future problems due to poor construction.

Issue No. 1: How much money is to be set aside in the form of some surety bond? No one knows how much but if citizens see that any bond is for less than $10 million they should be uneasy.

Issue No. 2: How long should these contractors be on the hook? Of course the contractors want to minimize their exposure to a few years. But problems could arise even 10-15 years down the road. This is supposed to be a 50-year structure, after all. Citizens and the press should be upset if a settlement only is good for five or so years.

Issue No. 3: What would trigger an event that would use set-aside funds to fund a downstream fix? Who would represent the county and WMATA? The same people who negotiated a deal? What standards would be used to access a set-aside fund? Will all this be done behind closed doors with a done-deal [to] be handed to the public or will the county lift the veil of secrecy to enable more transparent government?"

Bernard Bloom, Silver Spring


Finally, an article about the Silver Spring Transit Center that tells it like it is! 

"... serious problems ... poor construction ... no person knows whether the planned fixes will work ... fixes that have been arrived at have not been technically justified to the public, and have not undergone independent engineering review... What would trigger an event that would use set-aside funds to fund a downstream fix? Who would represent the county and WMATA? The same people who negotiated a deal? What standards would be used to access a set-aside fund? Will all this be done behind closed doors with a done-deal [to] be handed to the public or will the county lift the veil of secrecy to enable more transparent government? ... a deal being reached that could undercut future taxpayers ..."  

BRAVO! in-depth coverage! probing questions! 
(unlike the rest of the media's coverage of this story)

Well done, Mr. Bloom. Well done, The Gazette.

SSTC: a public-private partnership

http://www.reformandfreedom.org/2012-06-01-03-09-30/latest-news/public-private-partnerships/174-public-private-partnerships-capitalism-or-cronyism

"The 'public-private' concept works in several ways: either government partners with private business to build and maintain public projects, or government invests in private business to foster the growth of certain industries, supposedly for the public good. Rather than stay out of the marketplace, government officials use their influence and authority to grant special favors to their friends and colleagues in the business world. When government officials and business leaders maintain a close relationship for their own financial benefit, as is often the case with public-private partnerships, it is sometimes called “crony capitalism.”

Crony capitalism is marked by favoritism when it comes to handing out legal permits, government grants, business contracts and special tax breaks. Self-serving friendships or familial ties between businessmen and government officials mean anyone not on the “inside” of these relationships is excluded from the process. Because those relationships result in decision-making based on political and social considerations, however, they often go wrong. Public resources that could be used for infrastructure, education or public safety are diverted into business deals that either go belly up, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars, or into seemingly endless projects that only serve to line the pockets of special interests."

The Silver Spring Transit Center is a public-private partnership. If the builder/contractor, the engineer/designer and the concrete inspector/tester and special quality inspector for the SSTC had been selected in open competition, then would the result have been the same? Would the public be burdened with a severely flawed, over-budget, overdue SSTC that is undergoing millions of dollars in repairs before it opens?

There is much to be learned about government's role in the severely flawed, over-budget, overdue, $120+ million Silver Spring Transit Center. Will it be? Not from government that rejects open competition for cronyism. Not from media that fail to report "in-depth" and to ask government officials "probing questions". Not with a public that is content to sit quietly by while government wastes the public's money.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." 
Edmund Burke

Update from the FTA

Submission Update - FTA Contact Us Tool 
Fri, Feb 28, 2014 12:26 pm
From  Automated Email Notification <FTA> fta.sqlexecserv@dot.govhide details  
To  rkoenigsc 

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE. This is an automatically generated email from FTA's Contact Us Tool. Contact information is located at the end of this message. 

Question: I am a retired civil engineer. My question concerns the Silver Spring Transit Center in Montgomery County, MD. 53% of the funding for the SSTC is being provided by FTA and 11% by MMTA. In March 2013 the County reported that it had contracted with local Washington, D.C. engineering firm KCE to evaluate extensive cracking in the yet-to-be-opened Silver Spring Transit Center. KCE's report attributes the extensive cracking to errors and omissions by the SSTC's builder/contractor Foulger Pratt, the engineer/designer Parsons Brinkerhoff and the concrete tester/inspector and special quality inspector Balter Co. KCE's report addresses other serious flaws: slabs more than an inch thinner than the 10 inches thick slabs called for in construction documents, exposed reinforcement, missing reinforcement and other construction, design and inspection and testing flaws. Since release of the KCE report last March, other flaws have been discovered: 250 beams that are under-designed, leaks, etc. The County intends to add a two inch thick latex concrete overlay to the SSTC in spring 2014 after freezing temperatures have passed. Missing from numerous media reports and public statements from Montgomery County officials is an announcement for a public meeting(s) where those paying for the SSTC are given the opportunity to ask County officials our questions and to make our comments for the record. Why? Why hasn’t FTA required public meetings to allow paying citizens to provide their input?

The answer to your question requires additional research. We are currently working towards providing an answer to your question and will be in contact with you soon.

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I'm anxious to get FTA's answer to my question. Pretty soon it'll be Spring when Montgomery County intends to waste more federal money by adding a two inch latex concrete overlay to the SSTC--without public input from those who are paying for the SSTC--including you and me. The overlay won't fix the underlying problem which is extensive concrete cracking caused by a lack of (as in none) expansion joints. Standard construction practice and WMATA criteria (to which the SSTC was supposed to have been designed and constructed) require expansion joints spaced no more than 100 ft. apart. The 315 ft. by 580 ft. SSTC has none. At the very least the FTA should require Montgomery County to hold public hearings so that we, the paying public, can ask our questions and provide our comments on the public record.

I'll keep you posted.

To Tell the Truth

Let's play "To Tell the Truth":

Question: Is the Silver Spring Transit Center safe?
Answer (Montgomery County MD & its paid consultants): Yes
My answer: Let's hear from experts who were not involved in the construction of the SSTC and who are not paid for by Montgomery County.

Question: Why is the SSTC severely flawed (extensive cracking, slabs more than an inch thinner than what they're supposed to be, exposed reinforcement, missing reinforcement, under-designed beams, etc.)?
KCE's (Washington DC engineering firm hired by Montgomery County) answer: because of errors and omissions by the SSTC's builder/contractor, Foulger-Pratt, the SSTC's designer/engineer, Parsons Brinkerhoff, and concrete inspector/tester and special quality consultant, Balter Co.
My answer: ditto

Question: Why did Montgomery County select Parsons Brinkerhoff to design the SSTC, Foulger-Pratt to build it and Balter Co. to inspect and test concrete and to serve as special quality inspector? Were political contributions part of the selection process? Why wasn't the SSTC bid for construction, as has been standard practice for public works projects for decades?
Montgomery County's answer: (silence)
My answer: Only Montgomery County knows for sure.

Question: Relatively speaking, because of its flaws, will the SSTC be expensive to operate and maintain?
WMATA's engineers' answer: yes
My answer: ditto

Question: Will the latex concrete overlay fix the SSTC?
Montgomery County's (and its paid consultants') answer: yes (presumably) 
My answer: No. Lack of expansion joints is likely causing the SSTC to crack. A latex concrete overlay will not address the underlying, fundamental cause for the cracking (no expansion joints).

Question: Will the public pay for repairs to the seriously flawed, over-budget, brand new, yet-to-be-opened SSTC?
Montgomery County's answer: No.
My answer: Montgomery County doesn't know that the public will not end up paying for repairs. Presumably, the courts will ultimately decide who pays for repairs to the seriously flawed, over-budget, brand new, yet-to-be-opened SSTC.

Question: Will we ever know the answers to some of these questions?
My answer: Probably not. By their silence neither Montgomery County, the Federal Transit Administration, the Maryland Mass Transit Administration, the media, nor those who have shelled out $120 million for the seriously flawed, over-budget, yet-to-be-opened SSTC (you, me and citizens from all 50 states) seem to be interested in getting answers to these and other questions. 

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." 
Edmund Burke