Concerns about the Silver Line extension are coming from Metro’s inspector general.
Metro inspectors have found hundreds of cracks in the concrete at stations that have yet to open.
A new report details over 300 cracks in nearly 200 concrete panels at the Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation, Loudoun Gateway and Ashburn stations. About 11% of panels inspected were cracked or deficient, according to the report.
The report calls for all but the smallest of cracks to be fixed, along with the application of a protective solution to the panels every five to seven years.
Keith Couch, project director with Capital Rail Constructors, the company behind the extension project, said the cracks are in nonstructural walls between the outside and the inside of the stations.
“The issues identified by the OIG are minor, mostly aesthetic issues, commonly found throughout the Metro system and easily remedied,” Couch said in a statement. “The project does not pose any safety concerns, nor does it pose any long-term maintenance issues outside of the ordinary for the Metro system. We have already completed repair of many of the issues that are identified. Any additional remedies required will be completed without schedule delays.”
He said they’re forecasting summer 2021 for completion of the extension.
Last year, a company that produced concrete panels for the project settled a lawsuit accusing it of falsifying test data about that concrete.
