(The following story by Barry M. Horstman appeared on the Cincinnati Enquirer website on September 15, 2010.)
CINCINNATI – CSX Transportation officials said Wednesday they hope that “better housekeeping” by their railroad maintenance crews will eliminate the recent problem of heavy metal spikes falling from a bridge on downtown Cincinnati’s western riverfront.
The spikes and large screws that have fallen from the old C&O Bridge, rail officials believe, are items that have been left behind by crews that have been performing routine maintenance on the bridge across the Ohio River throughout the summer.
When trains pass over the span, located next to the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge just west of Paul Brown Stadium, the vibrations can cause the items to fall to the ground, CSX spokeswoman Carla Groleau said Wednesday.
“Safety is certainly our No. 1 priority so we take this very seriously,” Groleau said. “We’re initiating some additional attention to housekeeping that we think will take care of the situation. And we apologize for any inconvenience to anyone.”
About three dozen metal railroad spikes and screws, each about six inches long and weighing several pounds, apparently fell from the bridge in recent weeks, posing a potentially serious threat to motorists or pedestrians passing beneath the span.
Sean Molony, a runner who passes under the bridge on his daily lunch hour runs, recently heard a spike fall about 20 feet behind him near the intersection of Smith Street and Mehring Way.
Molony, a billing specialist for The Enquirer from Villa Hills has since collected about a dozen spikes and screws during subsequent runs, and two dozen more were scattered on the ground beneath the bridge Tuesday.
Cincinnati inspectors, who rated the bridge’s overall condition as poor in March, initially were uncertain whether the falling spikes perhaps had worked themselves loose over time, providing potential evidence of severe wear.
CSX officials, however, say that is not the case. Rather, the spikes, metal clips and other debris that fell, they say, were left behind by crews that began routine upkeep on the span in June, a job expected to wrap up in two weeks.
In addition to doing a better job picking up after themselves each day, CSX workers also will continue to flag cars and pedestrians to keep them from passing beneath the bridge while trains pass overhead, Groleau said.
“With some better housekeeping, this shouldn’t happen again,” she said.