The Silver Spring Transit Center project in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Silver Spring, Md., could face another lengthy delay after a recent study recommended strengthening beams and girders and repairing concrete before opening the facility. If recommendations in the report are followed, the transit center, now more than two years behind schedule, could face another eight to 10 months of delay at an estimated cost of more than $7 million.
The study—by a four-person, pro bono independent panel, led by former Lockheed Martin Chairman Norman Augustine—began after recently discovered evidence of surface cracking and spalling of concrete at the 259,000-sq-ft, cast-in-place structure. The panel focused on issues related to exposed conduits and reinforcement linked to concrete cracking and spalling as well as stress levels produced by combined shear and torsion on interior beams and girders.