“If only the County had been willing to work cooperatively, the Transit Center would have been open by now for the benefit of everyone in Montgomery County.” “Everyone in this community - including us - has been waiting for more than a year for the County to act,” said managing principal Bryant Foulger in a prepared statement. Last month, they filed a claim against the county. Since 1999, the project’s costs have tripled to $112 million.ĭespite the results of the report, Foulger-Pratt insists that Montgomery County is still responsible for the ongoing delays. They include waterproofing the structure, laying new concrete atop areas where it’s too thin, replacing concrete slabs that have deteriorated, and strengthening some beams and girders with fiber reinforced polymers.ĭavid Dise, director of the county’s Department of General Services, told the Gazette that the transit center “can be fixed, will be fixed,” though no cost for the repairs or date for their completion has been given. KCE proposed a variety of “remedial actions” to make the complex stronger and more durable. Much of the concrete and reinforcing steel is sound and the structure is strong enough to allow construction to resume.
#Silver qview transit code
While the Transit Center is unsafe, KCE said the building can be saved and strengthened to meet the International Building Code and WMATA’s standards.
Report recommends solutions, but there’s no plan to implement them
#Silver qview transit cracked
When they proposed sealing the cracked concrete with a waterproofing solution, the county said it was insufficient and sought out the help of KCE. It wasn’t until September 2011, when the first reports of deficiencies were made public, that county officials directed Foulger-Pratt to find a fix. KCE claims that they “did not raise sufficient concern” about cracks in the concrete and didn’t look for a solution. Yet the county’s inspectors looked the other way. And some columns, while being structurally sound, are thinner than what’s allowed by the fire code. The slabs were supposed to be roughly 10 inches thick, but in reality, they ranged from 7 to 12 inches. In some places, they were built without necessary reinforcing steel.Īs previously noted, about 60% of the concrete in the decks were poured too thinly in some places and too thick in others. In addition, the transit center’s concrete decks, meant to carry buses and other vehicles, aren’t as strong as they’re supposed to be. The concrete developed cracks and broke away in places, leaving the complex susceptible to water damage and reducing its life expectancy to just 12.5 years when it was supposed to last for 50. “Unfortunately, the news is not good,” he said.Ĭonstruction errors, lack of oversight plague the projectĪccording to KCE’s report, discrepancies between Parsons Brinckerhoff’s design documents and the working plans drafted by Foulger-Pratt’s subcontractors led to improperly-installed and treated concrete, which was exposed to harsh winter weather and settled unevenly. The County Council discussed the report in a closed session yesterday afternoon, and County Executive Ike Leggett released a statement expressing dismay at its results. Balter Company failed to report problems or find adequate solutions for them. KCE concluded that the situation resulted from a “lack of coordination” between contractor Foulger-Pratt and engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff, while the county’s independent inspectors from the Robert B. All of this is part of a 100-page report that was posted on the county’s website yesterday, two months after its January deadline. They found significant construction defects, ranging from improperly-laid concrete to columns that don’t meet fire codes. Montgomery County hired KCE Structural Engineers to look at the three-story complex. Construction began in 2008, but stopped over a year ago after workers discovered that the concrete was too thin.
Located next to the Silver Spring Metro station, the transit center is intended as a hub for local, commuter and intercity buses, MARC trains, and the future Purple Line. While there are ways to fix the complex, it’s unclear how much it’ll cost and when it’ll be done. Structural problems make the Silver Spring Transit Center unsafe and all parties involved were responsible, says a report released yesterday.
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