Transit Center Delay Could Mean Lawsuit

Montgomery County officials are thinking about filing a lawsuit, after learning that the concrete platform of Silver Spring's new transit center was laid incorrectly.

According to a study conducted by Parsons Brinckerhoff, an engineering and construction company hired by the county to determine whether specifications set by the Washington Metro Transit Authority (WMATA) for the project were met, more than half of the concrete on the second and third deck of the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center was laid incorrectly.

The transit center would be a centralized location for commuters to access taxis, Ride On, Metro bus and the MARC train in Silver Spring once its completed.

County officials and workers noticed eight areas on the platform that were flaking because of the lack of concrete over the reinforcement bars in August 2011. This made the platform subject to heat, it thawed and then cracked, David Dise, director for Montgomery County General Services said in a recent interview.

The project called for there to be 10-inches of concrete, according to County Council President Roger Berliner (D-dist. 1), but parts of the project have 8-inches and in other areas there are 11-inches.

Construction on the transit center started in September 2008, with Foulger-Pratt as the general contractor for the project. But they subcontracted the concrete framework to Facchina Construction.

After a closed session with the Montgomery County Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment committee, Berliner said litigation was an option on the table because of the "human error."

“I’m a lawyer and I would say to you where there is a mistake and a lot of money involved that increases the chances of litigation exponentially,” Berliner said. “There is a lot of money involved and there is a serious mistake.”

Another option under consideration is a $8,700-penalty fee specified in the liquidated damages clause in the contract between Foulger-Pratt and Montgomery County. The fee will be assessed from the day the county decides the project was overdue. This would include only costs that the county has incurred such as maintaining a facility on the premises of the construction site, Dise explained.

One part of this negotiation is clear.

Taxpayers won’t have to pay the bill for the fixes, according to Berliner. A mediation plan is expected from Foulger-Pratt within a month that will specify their solution to the issue. Then, the county council will weigh their options along with the Washington Metro Transit Authority (WMATA), who will be included in the discussion.

“There will be more documentation and we need that documentation in order to begin the process of accessing whether the remediation plan of Foulger and Pratt is acceptable,” Berliner said. “Hopefully we can be able to work this out but it’s unclear at this juncture.”

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