September 19th, 2019 by WCBC Radio
U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, Senator Chris Van Hollen, a member of the Environment and Public Works and Appropriations committees, and Congressman David Trone, who represents Allegany County (All D-Md.) are asking CSX to take responsibility for repairs to bridges on Cumberland’s West Side that have created safety risks and impeded traffic. The letter points out that for the better part of two years, residents have endured the impacts of closed bridges impeding access to the west side of the city, preventing the efficient flow of traffic, and creating undue public safety risks. At least some of the disrepair on the Washington St. and Fayette St. bridges can be attributed to collisions with CSX trains.
As negotiations between local officials and CSX continue, the lawmakers request CSX’s “support for moving forward as expeditiously as possible on fixing the bridges and reopening them to traffic.” Maryland’s Deputy Transportation Secretary Jim Ports hopes the federal delegation has better luck dealing with CSX than the state has had…
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September 19, 2019 at 5:39 am, mac said:
Let’s try this. The City of Cumberland should declare eminent domain to guarantee that they do, in fact, own the bridges.
Next rebuild the bridges and charge a toll for right of way to CSX for some outrageous amount. How does $10.00 per railroad car or $25.00 for a double stacked container car sound?
Win, win, win. New bridges, guaranteed income and the City gets to declare eminent domain, something they really, really want to do.
September 19, 2019 at 11:34 am, kevin said:
> The city has no authority at all over the railroad right of ways – ever. It is Federally protected. A bridge built over the tracks needs to be approved by the railroad. The only people the city could possibly charge a toll to are the people who want to drive over the bridge. I’m sure that idea will win friends on Washington Street (although to be fair, they did tax themselves for their own very special street lights).
September 19, 2019 at 6:23 am, Steve said:
Great Idea!! but…Someone may not get a “kick back” if they make CSX angry. Turn it over to the CEDC then nothing will occur.
September 19, 2019 at 10:32 am, Jay said:
CSX stock has a market cap of $56.4 billion. I’m not good at math but it seems to me that a billion is 1000 X a million. I guess they would have a lot of trouble coming up with a few million to fix a couple little bridges in one of the poorest cities in the state.
September 19, 2019 at 11:39 am, kevin said:
> The railroad stock is high because the railroad is jettisoning employees to automation and subcontracting. They are reducing costs to raise the value of the stock. They could afford to pay for the bridges, but they don’t want to for that reason. Surprisingly Cumberland is not the only city with bridges that the railroad does not want to pay for. In Trump’s America rewarding the stockholder is the single most important thing – nothing else, public service, or being a ‘good citizen’ matters at all – if it costs money. And this is what Allegany County has been voting for since the late 70′s.