Jared M. Kraham | Mayor
Jared M. Kraham | Mayor
Mayor Jared M. Kraham on Monday announced the City will conduct inspections of railroad bridges in the City of Binghamton, following decades of inaction by railroad companies to maintain the privately owned structures.
“These overpasses are unsightly and crumbling, but because they are owned by private railroads, which are federally regulated, it’s been thought for decades that there was little City Hall could do,” said Mayor Kraham. “I’m not going to accept that. We will put railroad companies on notice for the deplorable condition of their infrastructure in Binghamton. I will seek all avenues to make sure fixes are made. These railroad bridges are in embarrassing shape—and we’re kickstarting the process to fix them.”
The City will hire a firm with expertise in railroad engineering to inspect all railroad bridges in Binghamton and document structural and aesthetic deficiencies. The firm’s report will be delivered to the railroads, federal regulators and federal lawmakers.
A 2018 report from the Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan agency within the Library of Congress that provides research and analysis to federal lawmakers, explains the federal role in railroad bridge safety:
“As entities engaged in interstate commerce, railroads are regulated by the federal government. However, unlike road bridges, which are the responsibility of public entities, railroad bridges are the responsibility of the private railroad companies that own or operate them, including the responsibility to maintain records of bridge inspections and repairs.”
The City will issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to interested firms this week.
The City of Binghamton has at least 28 overhead railroad bridges, 25 carrying tracks of Norfolk Southern and three carrying tracks of New York Susquehanna&Western (NYS&W).
Original source can be found here.
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