Garth Burleyson was one of about 100 people to submit guesses on the opening date of the much-delayed and over-budget Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center in Silver Spring, and he “was tempted to guess never.”
Fortunately for Burleyson, he guessed Oct. 26—the 70th anniversary of the day he was drafted into the Army. It was close enough to Sunday’s actual opening day to win him the prize from the Action Committee for Transit (ACT), a local group of transit boosters.
On Sunday, ACT gave him a $100 gift certificate to 8407 Kitchen Bar, the restaurant that overlooks the transit center.
Burleyson and other ACT members celebrated the long-awaited opening with a toast at the restaurant.
“It was a stroke of luck,” Burleyson told Bethesda Beat. “It’s a shame it couldn’t have opened a couple of years ago. But it’s there. It’s open and it’s working today.”
Action Committee for Transit President Nick Brand (far left) and Guess the Transit Center Opening Date contest winner Garth Burleyson (middle) Sunday at 8407 Kitchen Bar, via Ronit Dancis
The three-level facility, which opened five years late and $50 million over budget, is now the focus of a legal battle between Montgomery County and Foulger-Pratt—the general contractor the county is blaming for faulty construction work that led to delays.
Foulger-Pratt says the blame should be on the county because it failed to manage the project properly.
The three-level facility went through its first rush hour Monday. The first and second levels have 27 bus bays for buses from Metro, Ride On and the University of Maryland shuttle. The third level is reserved for taxis and a kiss and ride for Metrorail passengers.
Twenty-five Metro bus routes that were using stations on Wayne Avenue, Colesville Road, East West Highway and Dixon Avenue—including the popular Bethesda to Silver Spring J2 route— will now pick up and drop off passengers in the transit center.
Burleyson, 88, has lived in Colesville for 40 years and grew up in Washington, D.C., where he remembers riding his bicycle around the memorials as a 12-year-old. He’s seen the region’s growth, especially when it comes to traffic.
“It’s a lot different now. I wouldn’t want my 12-year-old riding on those streets,” Burleyson said.
He plans to give the gift certificate to his son.
