Railroad asked to repair bridge in Martinsburg, W.Va.

Citing a 1921 agreement, city leaders in Martinsburg, W.Va., have asked CSX Transportation to help make repairs to deteriorating walls and abutments around the North Queen Street underpass bridge, The Herald-Mail reports.

"We’re just trying to get a
cooperative effort with CSXT to get the repairs done," City Manager Mark
Baldwin said Friday.

Based on the apparent
agreement between the city and B&O Railroad Co., CSXT’s predecessor,
Baldwin said "the city doesn’t think the whole structure is the city’s
responsibility" to maintain.

The agreement, which was
recorded in the April 1921 minutes of a Martinsburg City Council meeting,
concludes "the railroad company shall maintain its bridge and the abutments
thereof and sidewalls of the undergrade crossing, and the city shall maintain
the paving of the street and sidewalks."

Copies of photographs documenting
the deteriorated conditions around the underpass bridge, the 1921 agreement and
corresponding council minutes were sent with a July 26, 2010, letter signed by
Mayor George Karos to CSX Transportation’s Rick P. Garro Jr.

Garro did not reply to an e-mail
asking for a response to Karos’ letter, but CSX spokesman Robert "Bob" Sullivan
said Friday that the railroad would review it and respond appropriately.

"CSX directs its bridge
funds to making sure (they) are safe and well-maintained, as opposed to aesthetics,"
Sullivan said.

In response to a letter
that Karos sent to CSXT in 2006, Garro, the assistant chief engineer for the
railroad’s structures, said the bridge was built cooperatively with the city.
He also noted in the letter that the company did not have a copy of any
agreement related to the construction.

"Generally, the local road
authority is responsible for the roadway, sidewalks, hand railings and
lighting," Garro wrote in a Sept. 19, 2006, letter to Karos. "We believe that
the city is already empowered to make the improvements to the roadway
facilities suggested."

Sullivan said that the
underpass bridge, which has a 13-foot clearance, was deemed structurally sound
after an inspection in April.

While the city doesn’t
dispute the bridge safety, Baldwin said the deterioration of walls and
abutments, and worn condition of the railing along the city’s historic and
highly-traveled gateway will only get worse if they are not addressed soon.

"Our concern is the
structure in total," Baldwin said.