CLEVELAND — In a news conference on Thursday, members of Cleveland City Council and the Bibb administration provided an update on the condition of the 99 railroad-owned bridges in the city amid concerns about infrastructure.
In its study, the city says it has discovered 23 bridges that it considers in "critical" condition due to various failings, including abutments, retaining walls, concrete column disintegration and other serious problems. The other 76 bridges were considered "non-critical," but were found to be in need of maintenance due to falling concrete and other "potential disasters."
Thursday's briefing was held at the Superior Avenue at East 39th bridge, which was ranked No. 10 on the list of the bridges in the worst condition.
"You can actually see the leaking and debris that's coming through," said Ward 7 Councilwoman Stephanie Howse. "This should not be a standard, not only in Ward 7, but in the city of Cleveland."
City officials say a letter has been submitted to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) demanding action. According to Cleveland Law Director Mark Griffin, the city requested that the agencies provide "inspection, remediation, and enforcement of the standards that they are obligated to enforce."
One example of lack of enforcement, according to Griffin, is the Cedar Avenue Bridge near Ashland, which ranks No. 12 on the worst bridges list. Norfolk Southern, the bridge's owner, was ordered to complete a concrete encasement in 2015. The work has not been done.
Griffin says that the city is also sending letters to the individual railroad companies with a simple message: "Don't tell us you don't know, because now you do. We expect you to fix these bridges and if you don't, we will hold you responsible."
"Our message to the railroad companies is clean up your act," added Griffin. "Our message to federal and state authorities is do your job. And our message to our citizens is we hear you. We're going to do everything in our power to protect you."
Councilmembers added that they will also continue to work closely with Congress, including U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and Congresswoman Shontel Brown.
Sen. Brown has been at the forefront of challenging the railroad companies over the condition of bridges in Northeast Ohio. He called on Norfolk Southern to fix the decaying Lake Avenue Bridge on the city's west side, plus its bridges in Elyria and Amherst. Brown followed up with similar demands to CSX and Canadian National Railway.
"The Lake Avenue Bridge is one that was designated as a Cleveland landmark last year due to its historic significance," added Ward 15 Councilwoman Jenny Spencer. "Its physical attributes are deteriorating and is losing a lot of that historic character."
A full list of the bridges in critical condition is listed below:
You can watch Thursday's briefing in the player below:
