Silver Spring Transit Center: how it happened, who’s at fault and who pays

originally posted June 13, 2014
expanded on June 27, 2014

How it happened

1 – Government of the people, by the people and for the people, hereinafter referred to as “Government”, decides that "We the People" need a new transit center.

2 – Government is owner, financier (using We the People’s $) and self-appointed design and construction manager for the new transit center. Government is solely responsible for managing all aspects connected with planning (location, size, cost, etc.), design, financing and construction of the new transit center.

3 – As owner and design manager, Government selects an engineer to design the new transit center. Rather than selecting the engineer using the open, competitive selection process that has been used for decades for public works projects, Government selects the engineer sole source. Public-private partnerships, a.k.a. crony capitalism, a relatively recent invention of Government, are allowed, because Government makes all the rules. Government likes public-private partnerships for obvious reasons--Government can reward their cronies for their $upport.. 

Design for the new transit center proceeds.

4 – As owner and construction manager, Government selects a builder and a concrete inspector/tester for the new transit center. Rather than bidding the new transit center for construction, the decades-old, tried-and-true, competitive process for building public works projects, Government selects the builder and the concrete inspector/tester sole source--crony capitali$m. 

Construction for the new transit center proceeds.

5 – As owner and financier, Government arranges the financing for the new transit center. NO PROBLEM! Government has unlimited $, using We the People's $.

6 – OOOPS! There’s a problem(s)… BIG problems! As owner and design and construction manager, Government selects another engineer (see #3, #4 & #5) to look into the problem(s). The second engineer blames the BIG problems on “errors and omissions” by the transit center’s builder, (original) engineer and concrete inspector/tester.

Who’s at fault? 

Clearly the builder, the (original) engineer and the concrete inspector/tester are at fault. 
But, what about Government? 

• Owner AND design and construction manager, solely responsible for managing all aspects connected with planning, design, financing and construction for the new transit center. 
• Government, which selected the builder, the engineer and the concrete inspector/tester for the new transit center, who made the BIG “errors and omissions”. 
• Government, which didn’t use the normal competitive processes for selecting a builder, an engineer and a concrete inspector/tester for a public works project. 

Isn’t Government responsible too? 
Of course Government is responsible too! 

Who pays?

Who pays for the lemon transit center with all of its BIG problems? the supposed-to-be brand new, flawless transit center?
Why, We the People, do! 
Of course!

What do you have to say for yourselves, Montgomery County, Maryland Transit Administration and Federal Transit Administration? Why do you continue to make repairs, wasting We the People's $, because the repairs that you're making don't address the source(s) of the problem(s) (in particular, the SSTC's complete lack of expansion/contraction joints)?  What do you have to say, Government of the People, by the People and for the People, about your failure to hold public meetings to brief We the People on what you're doing (making expensive repairs to a supposed-to-be brand new SSTC) and why you're doing them (because they don't address the sources of the problems)? What do you have to say about your failure to give We the People the opportunity to ask our questions and to make our comments on the public record? What do you have to say about Government's responsibility to be good stewards of We the People's $? 

What do you have to say for yourselves, news media (print, TV, radio, internet)? Why have you failed, in more than a year reporting this story, with hundreds of stories that contain Montgomery County press releases and public statements from Montgomery County officials, but haven't reported "in-depth" or asked "probing questions", that you so highly tout? Your silence in June (NO new news through June 27) is deafening. Your failure to report the SSTC story-behind-the-story "in-depth" and to ask Montgomery County "probing questions", along with Montgomery County's failure to explain to the public why they selected the builder, the engineer and the concrete inspector/tester without using the normal competitive process for public works projects, is shameful.

On a personal note, it's been frustrating to read and listen to all the "experts" make public statements regarding the safety of the SSTC, and other matters, while lacking basic technical knowledge on the subject--"talking through their hats". Public officials making public statements, especially regarding the safety of the SSTC, should KNOW that their public statements are technically accurate BEFORE they make them. If public officials lack the technical knowledge in construction and engineering to know that the public statements that they make are accurate, then IMHO they shouldn't make them.

The news media have reported numerous times that David Dise, Director of the Montgomery County Department of General Services, says: “The SSTC will absolutely be safe”. HOGWASH! Dise can't guarantee that the SSTC will be safe, any more than ANYONE can predict the future. Dise may THINK that the SSTC will be absolutely safe; but, he doesn’t KNOW that the SSTC will be absolutely safe. It’s Dise’s OPINION that the SSTC will be safe. And, we all know what they say about opinions—they all stink. Stick to the FACTS, Mr. Dise. If you choose to make your OPINIONS public, then be clear to the public that it's your OPINION, NOT A FACT.


June 27, 2014

We, the People, won't know "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" until:

• We the People KNOW why Montgomery County selected the SSTC's builder, engineer and concrete inspector/tester without using competitive processes that are normally used for public works projects. Why wasn't the SSTC bid for construction (normal for public works projects)? Why weren't the engineer and the concrete inspector/tester selected using the normal competitive process for obtaining professional services? Were political "contribution$" part of Montgomery County's selection process for the SSTC?
• We the People understand that "The SSTC will absolutely be safe" is NOT a statement of fact, but rather, an OPINION.
• We the People KNOW why repairs directed by Montgomery County, and endorsed by its experts, do NOT address perhaps the biggest of the SSTC's flaws--that the SSTC has NO expansion/contraction joints. The normal standard of care for construction of structures exposed to temperature changes requires expansion/contraction joints. WMATA design and construction standards, to which the SSTC was supposed to have been designed and constructed, require them to be spaced no more than 100 feet apart. The 315 ft. by 580 ft. SSTC has NONE. The lemon SSTC's severe cracking is likely the result of its complete lack of expansion/contraction joints, yet repairs (deck overlay and external steel bracing on beams) do not address the SSTC's TOTAL lack of expansion joints.
• We the People KNOW why Montgomery County, the Federal Transit Administration and the Maryland Transit Administration failed to hold public meetings where We the People could ask our questions and make our comments on the public record.
• There's an independent investigation into the whys and hows that the severely flawed, lemon Silver Spring Transit came to be, including why and how Government selected the builder, the engineer and the concrete inspector sole source (a.k.a. public-private partnership or crony capitlism) for this $100+ million (and rising), severely flawed public works project.

These are just for starters. There is MUCH more for We the People to learn before we'll KNOW "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth". Until we know "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth", We the People are being deceived by Government of the People, by the People, and for the People, with the help of lazy news media (print, TV, radio, internet) that have failed to report "in depth" and to ask "probing questions", that they so highly tout.

With respect to an independent investigation of the Silver Spring Transit Center debacle, needless to say, those connected with the lemon SSTC do not qualify as independent investigators. Also excluded from an independent investigation should be those connected with Montgomery County, Maryland Transit Administration, Federal Transit Administration, and anyone else who has done business, is doing business, or wants to do business with Montgomery County, MTA or FTA. This includes government and private business employees, including managers, and elected government overseers, including politicians running for office, who influence, or can influence, awards of public contracts.


Why is all of this important? Because, if We the People are getting hosed because of cozy deals (*) between Government of the People, by the People and for the People and their private business cronies, who provide them with sweet deals (*) at our expense, and even more importantly, if public safety is at risk because of these cozy deals (*), then We the People sure don't want to be allowing Government of the People, by the People and for the People to continue its crony capitalism, at We the People's expense, with another public-private partnership on the Purple Line. 

    * "You scratch my back ($ for my campaign), and I'll scratch yours (public works contract)."
       "You scratch my back (public works contract), and I'll scratch yours (company job 
         after you retire from government)." 

Shame on the news media (print, TV, radio, internet) for not reporting this story "in-depth" and for not asking "probing questions" that news media brag about.

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

The Silver Spring Transit Center is simply unacceptable

The Silver Spring Transit Center is simply unacceptable.

• Construction (Foulger Pratt) and construction management (Montgomery County) 

The SSTC’s serious flaws (severe cracking, slabs thinner than they’re supposed to be, total lack of expansion/contraction joints, watered-down concrete, concrete exposed to freezing temperatures during curing, exposed reinforcement, missing reinforcement, etc.) are unacceptable. The SSTC is not indicative of the construction and the construction management industry’s typical work on public works projects. The SSTC’s serious flaws violate the normal standard of care for both construction and construction management. 

• Engineering design (Parsons Brinkerhoff)

The SSTC’s under-designed beams and total lack of expansion/contraction joints violate the normal standard of care for design of a public structure that carries fully loaded buses and is exposed to temperature changes. The SSTC is not indicative of the engineering design community’s typical work on public works projects.

• Concrete inspection and testing (Balter Co,)

Suspect concrete test reports showing the same values for multiple samples, 37% more water than called for added to the concrete mix (as determined by in situ testing), slabs poured without reinforcement, exposed reinforcement, freshly poured concrete unprotected from freezing temperatures, etc. violate the normal standard of care for concrete inspection and testing. The SSTC is not indicative of the concrete inspection and testing industry’s typical work on public works projects.

• Cost 

Cost for the SSTC is $120+ million, and rising. $10+ million have been spent on repairs before the SSTC has even opened. Because of its numerous construction and design flaws, even a repaired SSTC will be expensive to operate and maintain. The public expect a brand new, unflawed transit center, not a severely flawed one. The public should demand their money back.

• Metro patrons

Metro patrons pay for the SSTC (construction, repairs, operation and maintenance costs) through user fees. Metro patrons should not have to bear repair and increased construction, operation and maintenance costs for the severely flawed SSTC. These costs would not have occurred with a brand new, unflawed transit center that Metro patrons expect.

• Taxpayers

Taxpayers from Montgomery County, the State of Maryland and 49 other states are paying for the SSTC. Funding for the SSTC is 53% federal, 11% state and 36% county. It’s unacceptable that Montgomery County, the Maryland Transit Administration and the Federal Transit Administration have proceeded with repairs to the SSTC without public input. Having to pay for the SSTC without being briefed on why Montgomery County is proceeding with repairs to the yet-to-be-opened SSTC, and without having the opportunity to ask our questions and make our comments on the public record, is simply unacceptable.

The severely flawed, yet-to-be-opened, $120+ million SSTC is simply unacceptable. The public should demand their money back.

Silver Spring Transit Center: no news is no news

Search "Silver Spring Transit Center" on the internet and you will find a lot of... nothing new.

The brand new, yet-to-be-opened, $120+ million Silver Spring Transit Center, only yards away from the D.C./MD line, is severely cracked from stem to stern. Big story? But there's more. Not only is the SSTC severely cracked, but also:

• slabs are thinner than they're supposed to be
• some reinforcement is exposed while other reinforcement is missing 
• suspect concrete test reports show exactly the same test values for multiple samples
• concrete was exposed to freezing temperatures during curing
• in situ tests show 37% more water than called for was added to the concrete mix
• beams are under-designed
• 3-inch thick pieces of concrete have fallen from the building
• expansion/contraction joints, which should have been placed every 100 feet or less, are totally missing in the 315 ft. by 580 ft. transit center
• etc.

A March 2013 report commissioned by Montgomery County blames the SSTC's serious flaws on errors and omissions by the contractor/builder, the engineer/designer and the concrete inspection/testing firm.

That was more than a year ago. One would think that more than a year later that the news media would have asked Montgomery County how and why they selected the SSTC's contractor/builder, engineer/designer and concrete inspection/testing firm. Not so. The news media (print, TV, radio, internet) have reported all of Montgomery County's press releases and public statements by County officials; but, they have failed to ask the County why and how all of this happened in the first place, starting with why and how the County selected the builder, engineer and concrete testing firm. 

All the while the news media tout how they report "in depth" and ask "probing questions". 

Baloney. No news is no news.

Silver Spring Transit Center: missing the obvious

Why do Montgomery County and its experts continue to miss the obvious?

More than a year ago Montgomery County released a report that it commissioned to address widespread cracking in slabs, beams, girders and columns at the yet-to-be-opened, severely flawed Silver Spring Transit Center. The report identifies the SSTC's total lack of expansion/contraction joints as a major defect. The report says that despite WMATA's requirement that expansion joints be located no more than 100 feet apart, the 315 ft. by 580 ft. SSTC has NONE. 

An article in Structure Magazine explains why expansion joints are necessary in parking garages:
http://www.structuremag.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/C-StrucDesign-Iqbal-Oct101.pdf
"The purpose of an expansion joint is to reduce build-up of volume change (VC) stresses and the associated structural distress. An expansion joint is considered a necessary evil because omitting an expansion joint where it is needed creates a risk of structural distress."
Hence, the widespread concrete cracking.

Yet, for whatever reason(s), Montgomery County and its experts continue to fail to address the obvious. Ongoing repairs (2-inch thick latex concrete overlay and external steel braces on cracked beams where, according to Engineering News Record, 3-inch thick pieces of concrete have fallen) don't address the obvious problem (the SSTC's total lack of expansion/contraction joints).

Unfortunately, Montgomery County didn't hold public meetings to explain to the paying public what it is doing and why. We're ALL paying for the $120+ million, severely flawed, lemon SSTC; funding is 53% federal, 11% state and 36% county.  Unfortunate as well is the news media's (print, TV, radio, internet) lack of "in-depth" coverage and "probing questions", that they so highly tout. 

Because of the news media's poor coverage and because neither Montgomery County, the Federal Transit Administration, nor the Maryland Transit Administration held public meetings where the public could ask their questions and make their comments on the public record, we don't know why Montgomery County and its experts continue to miss the obvious.

In an interview ( http://www.mymcmedia.org/valerie-ervin-on-silver-spring-transit-center-video/ )
former Montgomery County councilwoman Valerie Ervin said "... there's a lot of the story still underneath the surface (translation: we haven't been told the whole truth) ... it's going to cost taxpayers a lot of money until it's resolved (contrary to what we've been told) ... people have many reasons not to believe what they've been told (translation: we've been lied to)".  

Politics is one thing; public safety, government waste and government deception are another.

Silver Spring Transit Center: Dr. Gridlock

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/a-late-silver-line-dc-streetcar-dont-match-debacle-of-silver-spring-transit-center/2014/06/02/1c12e01a-e5c5-11e3-a86b-362fd5443d19_story.html

Federal, state and county taxpayers and proposed Purple Line patrons should know that a public-private partnership brought us the Silver Spring Transit Center; and, a public-private partnership is planned to bring us the Purple Line too. Public-private partnerships are fully endorsed by the Federal Transit Administration and the Maryland Transit Administration. Funding for the SSTC is 53% federal, 11% state and 36% county. 

Hold on to your wallets, folks!

Silver Spring Transit Center: unfixable defects

If there's anything that's clear from KCE's March 15, 2013 Silver Spring Transit Center structural evaluation report, it's that there are serious, unfixable flaws with the SSTC. Chief among them is the SSTC's complete lack of expansion/contraction joints.

WMATA design and construction standards, to which the SSTC was supposed to have been designed and built, require expansion/contraction joints be spaced no farther than 100 feet apart. The 315 ft. by 580 ft. SSTC has NONE. Extensive cracking in the SSTC, which was the reason behind KCE's March 15, 2013 report, is likely caused by the SSTC's complete lack of expansion/contraction joints. WMATA's engineers say that without expansion/contraction joints, and with the SSTC's other serious design and construction flaws, that the SSTC's required 50-yr. service life is in jeopardy. They also say that the SSTC will be expensive to operate and maintain. Both KCE and WMATA blame the SSTC's serious defects on errors and omissions by the SSTC's contractor/builder, Foulger Pratt, engineer/designer, Parsons Brinkerhoff, and concrete inspector/tester and special quality inspector, Balter Company.

How does one "fix" a 315 ft. by 580 ft., existing (albeit unopened) concrete building, that's supposed to have expansion/contraction joints located every 100 ft. or less, that doesn't have ANY? Is it possible to do so? One would think that more than a year after KCE's report that Montgomery County and its experts would have answered these questions. Not so. Nonetheless, Montgomery County presses ahead with repairs that won't fix the problem (no expansion/contraction joints). A concrete overlay won't fix the problem (total lack of expansion/contraction joints). Exterior steel braces on cracked concrete beams with 3-inch thick pieces of concrete falling from them (according to Engineering News Record) won't fix the problem either (no expansion/contraction joints).

One would also think that more than a year after KCE's report, and as Montgomery County presses ahead with "repairs" that won't fix the problem (the SSTC's complete lack of expansion/contraction joints), that Montgomery County and its experts would have presented a plan to the public, who paid and are paying for the $120+ million, lemon SSTC, that addresses the problem (the SSTC's complete lack of expansion/contraction joints). Not so. Neither Montgomery County, the Federal Transit Administration nor the Maryland Transit Administration has held public meetings to explain to the public what they're doing and why, and allow the public to ask their questions and to make their comments on the public record. Public funding for the $120+ million, lemon SSTC is 53% federal, 11% state and 36% county.

Is it because Montgomery County and their experts don't have an answer for the problem (the SSTC's complete lack of expansion/contraction joints)? If so, then there's only one answer: REJECT the seriously flawed, unfixable, lemon SSTC, and demand our money back.

Silver Spring Transit Center: clueless

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/repairs-on-trouble-plagued-silver-spring-transit-center-scheduled-to-resume-next-week/2014/05/29/9e29771e-e76c-11e3-a86b-362fd5443d19_story.html

Beware of public statements from those who have ties to the SSTC and to Montgomery County—the County Executive, the County Council, Mr. Dise, Mr. Duncan, political candidates, paid contractors and consultants, pro bono advisors, WMATA, news media, etc. Only an independent investigation by those who don’t have any political, financial or other interests in Montgomery County or the SSTC, or to other parties involved with the project (e.g. Federal Transit Administration and Maryland Transit Administration) can be expected to uncover why the SSTC has so many serious defects. 

The investigation needs to start with why the SSTC wasn’t bid for construction (the norm for public works projects) and why and how the contractor, engineer and concrete inspector/tester were selected without the competition that is typical for large public works projects. 

The public, both inside and outside Montgomery County, that paid and are paying for the SSTC (53% federal, 11% state, 36% county), want to know why their public taxes and user fees were wasted on the lemon SSTC.

And, the public, except for clueless political partisans who can't think for themselves, wants the $120+ million that's been wasted on the seriously flawed, lemon SSTC reimbursed to the public coffers from which it came.

Is the Silver Spring Transit Center the fruit of crony capitalism?

For decades government has relied on competition to award government contracts. Until relatively recently, large public works projects were always bid for construction. Until recently, professional services contracts for large public works projects (e.g. engineering design, materials testing and analyses, etc.) were awarded to the firm deemed most qualified among many professional service firms seeking the government contract. Competition for the award of large public works contracts has been the norm for decades--until recently.

Now public-private partnerships allow sole-source, noncompetitive government contracts. Government agencies can select a contractor to build a pulic works project rather than bid it for construction. Government agencies can award professional services contracts without competition from other professional services firms. 

The Silver Spring Transit Center is a public-private partnership. Why did Montgomery County select Foulger Pratt to build the SSTC? Why did they select Parsons Brinkerhoff to design it? Why did they select Balter Co. to inspect and test concrete and to serve as SSTC’s special quality inspector? Were political “contributions” part of the selection process?

It would be helpful to know the answers to these questions before another public-private partnership for a large public works project, the Purple Line, breaks ground. Unfortunately, we won’t know the answers to these questions without an independent investigation free from governmental, political, regional, and other infuences and/or biases. Nor will we get answers from news media that fail to do “in-depth reporting” and fail to ask “probing questions”.

Is the lemon Silver Spring Transit Center debacle the fruit of crony capitalism?

We may never know.

Silver Spring Transit Center: some lemons can't be fixed

http://marylandreporter.com/2014/05/27/silver-spring-transit-center-study-finds-many-to-blame-for-stalled-costly-project/

Good report. However, it assumes that the “concrete remediation work ongoing at the Silver Spring Transit Center” (pictured in the photo) will "fix" the SSTC’s “significant problems and latent defects”. The photo shows a 2-inch thick concrete overlay being applied to the deck. How will this "fix" a 315 ft. by 580 ft. concrete building that doesn’t have any expansion joints? 

The external steel braces that Montgomery County plans on installing on under-designed beams, because 3-inch thick pieces of concrete have fallen from them (according to reports in Engineering News Record), won't fix the extensive concrete cracking either.

The SSTC’s complete lack of expansion joints is a major defect identified in KCE’s March 15, 2013 report and is the likely cause of the SSTC’s extensive cracking. WMATA’s design and construction criteria, to which the SSTC was supposed to have been design and constructed, require expansion joints be spaced no farther than 100 ft. apart. 

How does one "fix" an existing 315 ft. by 580 ft. concrete building that wasn’t designed or built with expansion joints spaced every 100 ft. or less? Is it even possible to do so? 

The SSTC with its “significant problems and latent defects” is a lemon. The public should demand their money back.

Silver Spring Transit Center: a personal note

When I first read the report, “Structural Evaluation of Superstructure, Silver Spring Transit Center, March 15, 2013” prepared by KCE Structural Engineers, I was shocked and saddened. How could a public works project go so wrong? What does this say about integrity in government and in the engineering profession which I chose more than 50 years ago? 

The SSTC’s design and construction flaws are serious. The fact that KCE’s report blames the SSTC’s serious flaws on the builder’s, the engineer’s and the concrete inspector/tester’s “errors and omissions” is troubling. Equally troubling for me is the fact that the SSTC was almost complete when the SSTC’s serious flaws came to the public’s attention. Who was “minding the store”? Anyone who is involved in construction, particularly those who have been involved in construction for more than 50 years, knows the importance of “minding the store”.

As disturbing as KCE’s report was to me, the events of the past 15 months since the KCE report became public have been equally disturbing. Public statements by public officials and others involved in the aftermath of KCE’s March 15, 2013 report have been less than forthright at best and downright deceitful at worst. 

I find the often repeated public statements of David Dise (director of the Montgomery County Department of General Services) and others who have made public statements about the SSTC’s safety particularly disturbing. Mr. Dise has been quoted repeatedly in the news media as saying “The SSTC will absolutely be safe". The fact is that neither Mr. Dise, nor anyone else, knows that the SSTC will be safe. His statement, along with those of others regarding the SSTC’s safety, is his opinion. It cannot be proven that the SSTC will be safe; and, IMHO, for public officials and others to make such public statements is irresponsible at best and outright deceitful at worst.

Equally disturbing for me to the public statements of those involved in the design and construction of the SSTC and its aftermath has been the lack of response by the Federal Transit Administration, the Maryland Transit Administration, and others whose responsibilities include protecting the public’s interests. The news media itself (print, TV, radio, internet) have done a particularly poor job in covering this story. The news media prides itself in its supposed “in-depth reporting” and “probing questions”. For the most part, I’ve seen none of that here; the news media have mostly published the public statements of those involved in the SSTC aftermath without “in-depth reporting” and without asking “probing questions”. 

I’ve found that unless you’re a public official or a member of the news media that it’s next-to-impossible to be heard on important issues such as serious flaws with the Silver Spring Transit Center. Search “Silver Spring Transit Center” on the internet and most of what you’ll find are news media reports and press releases and public statements from government officials on their websites. What’s largely missing is the other side of the story.

I don’t know how all of this will turn out. Will Montgomery County press ahead with its “repairs” to the SSTC without input from the public? It appears that way. Montgomery County hasn’t held public meetings to answer the public’s questions or obtain their comments on the public record. Will WMATA accept the seriously flawed SSTC? Will there be an independent investigation into why and how this happened? Is the fact that design and construction of the SSTC is a public-private partnership partly to blame? Will the public ever know the “other” side of the story? It appears to me that they will not; and, that shocks and saddens me.

Is it possible to fix a lemon without expansion joints?

More than a year ago KCE and WMATA’s engineers reported that the Silver Spring Transit Center doesn’t have expansion/contraction joints. WMATA’s design and construction standards, to which the SSTC was supposed to have been designed and built, require expansion/contraction joints be spaced no more than 100 feet apart. The 315 ft. by 580 ft. SSTC has none.

WMATA’s engineers warn that the SSTC’s complete lack of expansion/contraction joints, along with other serious flaws, will make the SSTC expensive to operate and maintain. They further warn that the requirement for the SSTC to have a 50 yr. service life is in jeopardy because of the SSTC’s complete lack of expansion/contraction joints and other serious design and construction flaws.

While Montgomery County’s engineers attribute the SSTC’s severe cracking to a variety of causes (shear, torsion, voids, etc.), I believe that the SSTC’s complete lack of expansion/contraction joints is a more likely explanation. Huge stresses can result from temperature changes. Large water lines break in freezing weather; concrete roads without properly functioning expansion joints buckle when it gets hot.

Is it possible to retrofit expansion/contraction joints spaced no more than 100 feet apart into an existing 315 ft. by 580 ft. concrete building that has none? If there is, then Montgomery County should tell us, the public, who paid and are paying for the SSTC and its “repairs”, exactly how they intend to retrofit expansion/contraction joints spaced every 100 feet or less into the joint-less SSTC. If Montgomery County is unable to explain how it intends to “fix” the SSTC’s complete lack of expansion/contraction joints, then the answer is clear: the SSTC is, and always will be, a lemon that will be expensive to operate and maintain--and, a possible threat to public safety.  

We, the public, deserve better. We don't deserve the existing lemon SSTC that we paid and are paying more than retail for. We deserve a refund..

Silver Spring Transit Center: now what?

Let’s review the facts. 

The Silver Spring Transit Center is a lemon.

• We know from Montgomery County’s April 15, 2014 IG report that, as early as 2010, serious design and construction flaws were systematically ignored (e.g. cracks in newly poured slabs in Oct. 2010 and curing concrete exposed to freezing temperatures in Dec. 2010)
• We know from KCE’s March 15, 2013 report that there are other serious flaws—complete lack of expansion joints, slabs thinner than they’re supposed to be, exposed reinforcement, missing reinforcement, understrength and overstressed concrete, suspect concrete test reports, under-designed beams, etc.
• We know that the KCE report attributes the SSTC’s serious design, construction and inspection and testing flaws to errors and omissions by the SSTC’s builder (Foulger Pratt), engineer (Parsons Brinkerhoff) and concrete inspector/tester and special quality inspector (Balter Co.)
• We know from the April 21, 2014 Augustine report that 3-inch thick pieces of concrete have fallen from the SSTC
• We know from WMATA that because of its serious flaws that the SSTC will be expensive to operate and maintain
• We know that funding for the SSTC is 53% federal funds, 11% Maryland state funds and 36% Montgomery County funds
• We know that the SSTC’s cost has ballooned to $120+ million, and that doesn’t include millions in current “repairs”, or future operations, maintenance and repair costs, or future admisistrative and lawsuits' costs
• We know that Montgomery County, without holding public meetings to give the public the opportunity to ask their questions and to make their comments on the public record, is proceeding with “repairs” to the seriously flawed SSTC

We, the public, paid more than retail for a brand new transit center and we got a seriously flawed lemon instead. We deserve better.

Now what? 

We should do what we do with any other lemon where we paid for new and got seriously flawed instead. We should demand that our money be refunded.

Silver Spring Transit Center: IG report photos from 2010

Here are a few photos from the Montgomery County IG report for the Silver Spring Transit Center:

The Montgomery County IG report says:

"The significant structural strength and structural durability concerns ... resulted from deficiencies in construction, design issues ... , and failure to effectively address these issues when they were first identified. Each of these issues contributed to widespread cracking in the slabs, beams, and girders that is now evident in the Silver Spring Transit Center."

• 2010
• cracking in newly poured slabs
• curing concrete exposed to freezing temperatures

incredible government disfunction

SSTC: excerpts from the IG report

Excerpts from the summary (“Report In Brief”) of the report of the Montgomery County Inspector General titled “Project Management Deficiencies in Constructing the Paul S. Sarbanes Silver Spring Transit Center”, dated April 15, 2014:

“Although inspectors asserted that no undocumented water was added to the concrete, forensic testing in the SSTC suggests a presence of 36% more water than was documented by the concrete provider and the inspector.” 

Ladies, if you have a recipe that has 3 or 4 ingredients, and you add 36% more of one ingredient than the recipe calls for (and add the other ingredients in exactly the same amounts that the recipe calls for), then what will be the result? … The same applies for concrete.

Inspectors, take it from George Washington: "It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one."

“The effects of extra water and improper curing should have been detected during testing, but concrete specimen samples upon which test results relied were not representative of the in-situ concrete. … However, records do not indicate that the test results from cylinders collected at the two locations were ever compared by the contractors. As a result, the differences were not identified or investigated, and the same batch performance differences relative to specifications were not detected.”

Translated: Concrete in test cylinders cured in a protected environment (e.g., lab) is not the same as concrete exposed to freezing temperatures during curing. DUH!

“By late 2010, design, construction, and inspection personnel were aware that proper concrete thickness was not always being achieved, yet effective corrective measures were not taken, and the problem persisted throughout the period of the major construction project activities.”

Analogy: The store’s employees are aware of problems; but, the store’s owners are ignoring them. DUH!

“The three pour strips on the 330 and 350 levels were each constructed in a different manner and neither of the pour strips on the 330 level was constructed in a manner that conformed to the design requirements identified in the structural drawings. … The east pour strip on the 330 level was poured without post-tensioning tendons but with mild steel reinforcement, while the west pour strip on the 330 level was poured without posttensioning tendons and without sufficient steel reinforcement in one direction.”

“Problems with structural design and construction were identified by late 2010, and repeatedly discussed in subsequent Project Management Team meetings, but were not effectively addressed.”

“Recommendation 6: Those professionals whose lack of diligence resulted in the pour strip construction deficiencies should be held accountable.”


How the public recovers $120+ million that has been wasted on this lemon was not addressed in the IG's report. In fact, the 165-page .pdf document doesn't address why and how more than $120 million has been wasted on the SSTC. It mostly talks about what whould be done on future projects. 

YOU'RE MISSING THE POINT, Montgomery County IG Edward Blansitt and Montgomery County Chief Administrative Officer Timothy L. Firestine. The public wants to know HOW and WHY $120+ million of the public's money was wasted on THIS project. Was it because of crony capitalism, a.k.a. public-private partnerships, where public contracts are awarded sole source, without competition to friends of politicians? 

The SSTC is a lemon. We, the public, want our money back, regardless of how and why the SSTC became a lemon.

Silver Spring Transit Center: unasked questions

Why is Montgomery County making repairs, costing millions, to the brand new, yet-to-be-opened, severely flawed, lemon, Silver Spring Transit Center? 

The SSTC is clearly a lemon (severely cracked, no expansion joints, slabs thinner than they’re supposed to be, understrength and overstressed concrete, suspect concrete tests reports, exposed reinforcement, missing reinforcement, under-designed beams, 3-inch thick pieces of concrete that have fallen off, etc.). The public shouldn’t have to accept a clearly flawed lemon when they’re paying more-than-retail for a brand new, unflawed transit center. At the least the SSTC will be expensive to operate and maintain, and at worst it is a threat to public safety.

Why hasn’t Montgomery County held public meetings to explain to the public what they’re doing and why? Why haven’t they provided the opportunity for citizens to ask their questions and to make their comments on the public record?

Why haven’t the Federal Transit Administration and the Maryland Transit Administration insisted on public meetings where citizens can ask their questions and make their comments on the public record?

53% of the funding for the SSTC are federal funds, 11% are state and 36% are county.

Why did Montgomery County select Foulger Pratt to build the SSTC instead of bidding it for construction (standard practice for public works projects)?

Why did Montgomery County select Parsons Brinkerhoff to provide engineering design for the SSTC and Balter Co. to inspect and test concrete and to serve as special quality inspector instead of selecting an engineer and a concrete inspection/testing firm using the traditional competitive process for selecting professional service firms for public works projects?

Were political contributions involved in these selections?

Explain how the SSTC’s public-private partnership benefits the public over standard competitive practices for construction (bids) and for selecting professional service firms for public works projects.


Too bad that these guys aren’t around:

They'd get answers to our questions.


***UPDATE***    ***May 21, 2014***

http://www.gazette.net/article/20140520/NEWS/140529876/1033/report-finds-faults-with-management-of-transit-center-construction&template=gazette 

Why did the Montgomery County Department of General Services ignore serious problems that were discovered in 2010? Why didn't DGS deal with them then? Is it because of "crony capitalism"? Will history repeat itself with the Purple Line (public-private partnership)? Will even more federal, state and county funds be wasted with crony capitalism on an even bigger public works project? 

How can Montgomery County, the Maryland Transit Administration and the Federal Transit Administration expect the public to accept this lemon, especially now that it's confirmed that serious defects were systemically ignored since 2010? How many more serious defects, that DGS didn't deal with at the time, are buried, hidden inside the SSTC's seriously flawed concrete frame?

... more "probing questions" for the news media not to ask ...

"Unimaginable" building collapse in North Korea

http://www.smh.com.au/world/serious-north-korea-building-collapse-20140518-zrgfr.html

KCNA said the accident had occurred last Tuesday and was the result of "irresponsible" supervision by officials in charge of the construction.

An "intensive" emergency rescue effort had been carried out to rescue survivors and treat the wounded, it said.

The KCNA did not provide a death toll or elaborate on the cause of the collapse, but said it had left Pyongyang citizens "greatly shocked".

The agency carried lengthy public apologies by senior officials including the Minister of People's Security, Choe Pu-Il.

(Choe) repented of himself, saying that he failed to find out factors that can put at risk the lives and properties of the people and to take thorough-going measures, thereby causing an unimaginable accident," it said.


"Unimaginable"?    Hardly.   It's simply the laws of physics at work.

What's "unimaginable" are the lame excuses that public officials come up with when "'irresponsible' supervision by officials in charge of the construction" result in such disasters, and the naivete of the news media (print, TV, radio, internet) and the general public.

Silver Spring Transit Center: opinions are not facts

Perhaps the most important fact that has been lost in the monumental Silver Spring Transit Center debacle is that opinions are not facts.

David Dise, Director of Montgomery County’s Department of General Services, has been quoted repeatedly in news reports as saying “The Silver Spring Transit Center will absolutely be safe.” Others (Montgomery County’s executive and council members, WMATA officials, Montgomery County’s paid consultants, WMATA’s paid consultant, the Augustine panel, etc.) have said the same, albeit without Dise’s emphasis (“…absolutely safe...”).

The fact is that the statement “the SSTC is (or will be) safe” is an opinion, NOT a fact. No one, not even engineering experts, can prove that the SSTC is, or will be, safe. The simple facts are that no one can predict the future and no one can conclusively say that there aren’t more defects hidden inside the SSTC’s defective concrete frame. 

Given the number of defects that have been identified, and the fact that we can’t see inside hardened concrete, it is likely that there are even more defects lurking inside the SSTC's cracked and thinner-than-they're-supposed-to-be slabs and cracked and reinforcement-defieient beams, girders and columns. The fact that some defects (“…3-in.-thick concrete pieces have fallen from the structure” *) were discovered after KCE’s extensive investigation and report adds credence to the belief that it is likely that not all of the SSTC’s defects have been found.

* http://enr.construction.com/business_management/project_delivery/2014/0512-more-delays-for-md-transit-center.asp

So, the next time that the news media (print, TV, radio, internet) report that Montgomery County, WMATA, their paid consultants, the Augustine panel or anyone else says that "the SSTC is (or will be) safe", take it with a grain of salt, because opinions are NOT facts.

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts."   
Daniel Patrick Moynihan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyyVJQmMewo

Silver Spring Transit Center "Day of Reckoning"

http://www.mymcmedia.org/valerie-ervin-on-silver-spring-transit-center-video/

"Is it safe? How much will it cost? Who's to blame?"

I hope that you're right, Ms. Ervin. There needs to be "a day of reckoning"--the sooner, the better. However, I'm skeptical that it's going to happen soon for a number of reasons. There are too many folks who don't want "a day of reckoning".

Clearly the builder, engineer and concrete tester don't want "a day of reckoning", for obvious reasons. 

Montgomery County has excluded the public during the repair phase. Montgomery County hasn't held public meetings to explain to the public what they are doing. Why are they repairing a flawed, brand new building that the public is paying more-than-retail for? Montgomery County hasn't provided an opportunity for the paying public to ask their questions and to make their comments on the public record. Why? Could it be that Montgomery County has something(s) to hide? Could it be that Montgomery County doesn't want to have to explain to the public why they selected the builder, engineer and concrete tester noncompetitively, instead of bidding the SSTC for construction and selecting the engineer and concrete tester competitively? Could political "contributions" have been involved? Does Montgomery County want to avoid "a day of reckoning"? It appears that they do.

The same can be said for the Federal Transit Administration and the Maryland Transit Administration. Why haven't they protected the interests of the paying public by insisting that the public be provided the opportunity to speak on the public record? After all, 53% of the funding for the SSTC are federal funds and 11% are Maryland state funds. Could it be that FTA and MTA have something(s) to hide and don't want "a day of reckoning" either? Perhaps the FTA & MTA don't want to answer why the SSTC wasn't bid for construction (standard practice for public works projects), and why the engineering and concrete testing firms were selected noncompetitively also, as part of a public-private partnership. Perhaps they don't want to have to explain to the paying public how the SSTC public-private partnership has benefitted them.

It also appears to me that, for whatever reason(s), the news media doesn't want "a day of reckoning" either. Instead of covering this story like Watergate, asking "probing questions" and reporting "in-depth", the news media (print, TV, radio, internet) generally publishes Montgomery County press releases and public statements without reporting "in-depth" or asking "probing questions". Whatever their reasons, the news media haven't helped to expedite "a day of reckoning" for the SSTC, like they did with Watergate.

Finally, I don't share your optimism, Ms. Ervin, about voters. I don't see people "up in arms" the way that you describe. When you search "Silver Spring Transit Center" on the internet, most all of what you see are news media reports that parrot Montgomery County's press releases and public statements. VERY few others appear to be challenging Montgomery County. They should be; but, it doesn't appear to me that they are.

Regardless, I agree with you, Ms. Ervin. There needs to be "a day of reckoning"; and, the sooner, the better; because there are things about the Silver Spring Transit Center that "don't pass the smell test".