Cleveland Delivers Survey of Dilapidated Rail Bridges to Class Is
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
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CLEVELAND, Ohio – The city of Cleveland delivers letter to Class Is to address dilapidated rail bridges.
After Cleveland Mayor, Justin Bibb, surveyed residents about rail bridges across the city, the city sent a letter to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and Class Is.
Fox 8 reported that the survey itself includes almost two dozen bridges in need of repair, with more than half of them belonging to Norfolk Southern who has responded, stating that the company’s inspection program “fully complies with FRA regulations” and “is designed to regularly review bridges across our network and uncover any safety issues. In Ohio, we’ve invested over $100 million in installation, rehabilitation, and replacement projects over the last five years. In the next five, we anticipate more than $240 million in bridge projects in Ohio, many of which are referenced in recent reports.”
The survey from the city spans 8 pages and shows issues of cracks and failing bearings. A councilwoman of Ward 15 in Cleveland said, “Class I railroad-owned bridge condition emerged as a prominent and widespread problem affecting nearly every ward across the city of Cleveland.”
While there is no estimated cost of the repairs as of yet, “the City of Cleveland said the rail companies are responsible.” Chief among the Class Is are CSX and Norfolk Southern.
Mark Griffin, Cleveland City Law Director commented that the letters are being sent directly to the Class Is because “to them, we say ‘Don’t tell us you don’t know, because now you do. We expect you to fix those bridges, and if you don’t, we will hold you responsible.” Additionally, it’s reported that the city of Cleveland will not rule out “civil or criminal action if the large rail companies do not act,” with Councilwoman Spencer mentioning her “own conversations with Senator Sherrod Brown’s office. . . the assumption that the railroads should take responsibility.”
This comes after Senator Brown introduced the Railway Safety Act of 2023 to “strengthen rail safety requirements, improve train inspections, boost support for his first responders & increase penalties on rail companies for wrongdoing.”
