宾夕法尼亚州斯托市的通用混凝土产品，提供了数百种有缺陷的预制面板for the $2.7 billion Silver Line light rail extension in northern Virginia, has received a three-year ban on participating in federally financed transportation projects. Imposed by the Federal Transit Administration, the ban makes Universal ineligible for contracts, grants, loans or other financial assistance from agency of the federal government until the end of 2023.

Universal manufactured more than 1,500 precast exterior wall panels for the project’s five above-ground stations under a $6.1 million contract with Capital Rail Constructors (CRC), a design-build team led by Clark Construction Group and Kiewit Infrastructure South that is constructing the 11.5-mile extension of Washington, DC’s Metrorail system for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA). CRC’s quality control checks during the panels’ initial installation in 2017 revealed numerous instances of high water content and low air entrainment, potentially compromising long-term durability. In addition, 65 panels that failed to meet the specified 1.5-in concrete coating over rebar were replaced.

随后的美国运输调查部门发现，在制造小组时，环球影城有意绕开了18个月的质量控制要求和伪造的测试文件。该公司的质量控制经理在对联邦串谋犯有串线欺诈指控的认罪后，被罚款140万美元，因为他在更改测试数据方面的作用以表明该面板是可以接受的。去年，环球影业（Universal）在弗吉尼亚州和美国司法部提起的民事诉讼中达成了一项100万美元的和解协议。

Brad Parrott, an attorney representing Universal, says his client, "did not receive notice of the proceeding until after the debarment. Accordingly, UCP will be seeking reconsideration of this administrative action."

The defective panels are among multiple construction issues that have left the Silver Line extension more than two years behind its original 2019 completion schedule. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which is slated to assume operation and maintenance of the Silver Line next year, will not accept the project without an acceptable long-term CRC-funded strategy to ensure the panels maintain the contractually specified 100-year service life.

去年夏天，Disimone Consulting工程师对WMATA进行了1,600多个面板的检查发现了184个单位，总共有342个裂缝。在这342张裂缝中，有146个碰到或超过.005英寸阈值。根据项目的技术规格，必须修复宽度为0.005英寸或更高的裂纹。

Although CRC has suggested that the panel integrity could be maintained by reapplying two coats of a silane sealant every 10 years, an analysis conducted for WMATA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) by Dallas-based forensic consultant Structural Services Inc. recommends four-coat applications at intervals of 5 to 7 years.

In a September 2020 report to WMATA’s Board of Directors, the OIG criticized CRC’s proposed amount for escrow “because it does not account for future repair of cracks, application of four or more coats versus two coats with each reapplication of the solution, replacement of panels, and other costs over and above normal maintenance costs and operation impact.”

Project spokesperson Marcia McAllister says MWAA continues to work with CRC and WMATA to address problems identified by the OIG’s office.

“Our goal is to continue a variety of testing and to compete construction early spring and turn the project over to WMATA,” McAlister says, adding that WMATA plans to begin service on the extension in July 2021.