(The following story by Adan Taylor appeared in the News Journal on April 25.)
NEWARK, Del. — A bitter argument between Delaware and CSX railroad officials about the fate of four aging railroad-owned bridges could wind up before an arbitrator, the state transportation secretary said Wednesday.
Who will pay to repair or replace – and eventually own – the Newport Road Bridge north of Newport and the Sixth Street, Seventh Street and Ninth Street bridges in Wilmington has been a point of contention between state and railroad officials for years.
The state closed the Newport Road Bridge in October and the Sixth Street and Seventh Street bridges in December for safety reasons. The Ninth Street Bridge was re-opened in October after being shut down for seven weeks while CSX renovated it.
Delaware Transportation Secretary Nathan Hayward III had bright-orange signs depicting a collapsed bridge installed at the three closed spans. The signs say that CSX owns the bridge and that CSX is “dragging their feet to fix it.” The bridges have not collapsed, but they have significant structural problems, Hayward said.
But the signs have not speeded up the efforts to get the bridges fixed or replaced. Hayward wrote this month to Stephen C. Thienel, the railroad’s regional vice president for state relations, and offered to have an arbitrator decide how the bridges would be fixed.
“We’re exasperated that they won’t make a decision and don’t seem to care that they are inconveniencing thousands of Delaware residents,” Hayward said.
Thienel said Wednesday that railroad officials are trying to work with the state and would continue to do so. He said a response to Hayward’s letter would be completed soon.
Brian Dougherty, co-owner of Brian & Jim’s Automotive Service Inc. on West Seventh Street, said the bridge closings have cut business at his shop in half. “When I try to give people the detour directions, they just get frustrated and don’t come,” he said.
The bridges have three-ton weight limits, which is enough to allow a sport utility vehicle to travel over them, but not enough for school buses or firetrucks.
Hayward wants the railroad to bring the bridges to a strength that would allow the heavier vehicles to travel safely on them. The railroad would have to keep ownership of the bridges if it paid only part of the repair bill, but could give them to the state if it paid the entire cost of new bridges. The state has estimated that new bridges could cost more than $1 million each.
Thienel said railroad officials made Hayward an offer to replace two of the four bridges if the state would take ownership of them. “We’ve never heard back from the state,” he said.
Hayward said the railroad’s offer was not satisfactory, and state officials have recently communicated that to CSX officials.
City Councilman Gerard W. Kelly said he has been disappointed that the bridge closings, the blunt signs and angry letters from state officials have not been catalysts for a solution.
“The level of discussion over the last four or five months has fallen short of a good dialogue,” he said. “I think Secretary Hayward is making an honest effort, but the railroad seems to want to get out of this on the cheap.”