Maryland’s Future Transit Hub “Severely Compromised” by Construction Errors

[marmar]

[font size="1"]Silver Spring Transit Center (photo by ThisIsBossi via flickr)[/font]


(Matt Bush — Washington, D.C., WAMU) An independent report on the yet-to-be-opened Silver Spring Transit Center shows the transit hub is plagued by flaws that will render it unfit to open unless fixed.

The transit hub, which will connect commuters to rail, Metro, buses, bikes and cabs, was scheduled to have opened two years ago, but has been dogged by construction errors and cost overruns. After seeing cracks in the concrete last year, Montgomery County commissioned a report on the SSTC from structural engineering firm KCE.

And now that report concludes the problems with the center go far beyond cracked concrete.

In a statement, county executive Isiah Leggett says the center as currently constructed is “severely compromised.” According to his statement: “The facility contains significant and serious design and construction defects, including excessive cracking, missing post-tensioning cables, inadequate reinforcing steel, and concrete of insufficient strength and thickness. These deficiencies not only compromise the structural integrity of the facility but could also begin to impact the Transit Center’s durability far earlier than expected, thus shortening its useful life. At worst, if no changes are made, some of the facility’s elements may not withstand the loads they are intended to support – thereby putting the many users of the center at potential risk.” .....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://transportationnation.org/2013/03/20/marylands-future-transit-hub-severely-compromised-by-construction-errors/

[KamaAina]

1. It's like deja vu all over again

Shortly after the Baltimore Metro segment to Owings Mills opened in the late '80s, it was shut down for months due to -- you guessed it -- design and construction flaws.