Union Street Bridge in SpencerportRail company and bridge owner CSX has awarded a contract to Rochester area-based construction company C.P. Ward to remove three abandoned and graffiti-ridden railroad bridges in the Town of Ogden and Village of Spencerport.
In addition to the Union Street Bridge at the entrance to the Spencerport business district, two other low-hanging bridges over Manitou Road and Washington Street have been abandoned for decades. Earlier this year, CSX assured New York Senator Charles Schumer that it intended to fulfill its commitment to the Ogden and Spencerport communities to remove the unsafe and deteriorating structures.
Schumer said in a press release that CSX plans to begin work on the Union Street Bridge in Spencerport and the other two bridges in Ogden will follow. Pending permit approvals, CSX expects the work to be done this spring.
“It is great news that CSX is back on track and has hired Rochester workers from C.P. Ward to remove these dangerous bridges from Spencerport and Ogden. The Union Street bridge in Spencerport and the Manitou and Washington Street bridges in Ogden have impeded traffic, blocked businesses delivery trucks, and inhibited emergency and maintenance vehicles access for far too long,” said Schumer in the press release.
Spencerport Mayor Joyce Lobene thanked Senator Schumer for his intervention saying, “Finally, after trying for four years, with the support of Senator Schumer and his staff, the CSX Railroad Bridge is coming down.”
Manitou Road BridgeRemoval of these bridges is a cause for local concern, given the unsafe conditions for residents and motorists, as well as several instances when commercial trucks have been lodged under these bridges, causing hours of traffic delay, and stifling the flow of commercial goods and customers to the town’s business district. Originally CSX notified local officials two years ago that it hired an out-of-state contractor that planned to remove all three bridges starting in February of 2012, but the contractor failed to perform the project, and the bridges remained in place. CSX ended their service on these tracks in 1982, and most upkeep and maintenance; now the local community widely regards these bridges as unattractive eyesores and safety hazards, and Schumer had urged CSX to live up to its commitments and swiftly remove these structures.
Washington Street BridgeDelivery trucks such as those to Tops Supermarket and other businesses have routinely hit the Union Street Bridge, which has a clearance of only 11’7”. Once stuck, the cleanup has often taken hours and halts traffic throughout Spencerport, impacting local stores, businesses, commuters, and school buses; fire and ambulance services, which are unable to respond promptly to emergencies are then isolated on one side of the bridge. Each strike also further weakens the structural integrity of the bridge, which is already suffering from a nonfunctioning drainage system and a crumbling main column foundation. Late last year, two more trucks became wedged under the Union St. bridge, one of which took five hours to tow out. Schumer highlighted that in addition to the damage these trucks cause to the bridge, and the subsequent delays in delivery of commercial goods and traffic into Spencerport’s business district, another top concern is the increasing likelihood that heavy debris could fall and injure a motorist passing underneath.
