BNSF, county refuse to take ownership of troubled railroad bridge

BNSF

The Osage Avenue railroad bridge in Adams County, Neb., is going unclaimed.

County officials and BNSF recently held a meeting to talk about the structure and another railroad bridge on Sundown Road. Both spans have been closed due to structural issues.

Adams County wants to make the closures permanent but thought the discussion with BNSF was needed before a final decision was made.

According to Commissioner Chuck Neumann, there is no official paperwork identifying the owner of the Osage Avenue bridge. He said the county has not touched it in over 20 years, and Adams County has reached out to BNSF when repairs were necessary. The bridge was worked on in 2015, but BNSF is not claiming that it owns the span.

BNSF is expected to study the track coming up from the north. Officials were pleased with the meeting with the Class 1, and another one is set up in the next 10 days.

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