The independent committee commissioned by County Executive Ike Leggett to examine structural problems at the Silver Spring Transit Center has concluded that safety issues due to the potential of falling concrete will exist if interior beams and girders are not reinforced.
The committee, headed by former Lockheed Martin chairman and CEO Norman Augustine, estimates the cost to fix the beams and girders at about $7.1 million, which would add to the center’s current cost of $120 million.
In a report released Tuesday, the panel concluded that the facility isn’t in danger of a major structural failure, but that cracking and falling concrete poses a safety issue to users of the bus and train transit center. The center is expected to be used by about 30,000 commuters each day.
“A failure stemming from combined shear and torsion stresses [on the beams] is likely to be sudden,” the report said.
The committee estimated the repairs would take eight months to complete, possibly pushing the center’s opening to late 2014 or 2015. The center is already two years behind schedule.
The independent report echoes concerns expressed in a 2013 county study conducted by KCE Structural Engineers, which also recommended remediation work on the beams and torsion issues. However, the new report put more of an emphasis on the safety issues.
Despite the two reports, a struggle remains between the major parties involved in the project—the county, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and Parsons Brinckerhoff.
Leggett said in a press statement issued Tuesday that Parsons Brinckerhoff, the engineer-of-record for the facility, “believes strongly that no remediation of beams and torsion is necessary and, in fact, that such remediation would be harmful to the structure.”
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Parsons Brinckerhoff Vice President Jerry Jannetti maintains that the center was built to withstand “loads far in excess of normal operation for this garage” and that embedding more steel supports could damage the building.
Leggett added that WMATA, for which the county is building the center, “has also expressed—in writing—concerns about damage to the structure from doing the remediation.
“The county is involved in discussions with Parsons Brinckerhoff and WMATA concerning a binding financial guarantee from Parsons Brinckerhoff to cover any possible future beam and torsion issues that might occur, plus a rigorous inspection and maintenance program that would mitigate concerns raised by KCE and Augustine,” Leggett stated in the press release.
Leggett added the county is committed to turning a safe and durable facility over to WMATA and plans to ensure any additional costs caused by faulty workmanship is paid by private parties responsible—not by county taxpayers.
