Schumer: Local Workers Will Finally Revamp Landscape in Spencerport & Ogden

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that in response to his intervention, CSX has now 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. At Schumer's urging last month, CSX assured Schumer that it intended to fulfill its commitment to the Ogden and Spencerport communities to remove these unsafe and deteriorating structures. Schumer said that today, with news that C.P. Ward is the winning bidder selected by CSX, marks a huge step forward in Schumer's push to tear down these bridges.

Schumer said 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 anticipates work beginning as soon as Spring 2013.

"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. "I'm pleased to announce this demolition contract, which marks major progress toward tearing down these bridges once and for all, all means local workers will benefit from removing these eyesores in the near future."

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 capable staff, the CSX Railroad Bridge is coming down."

Removal 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, and stifling the flow of commercial goods and customers to the town's business district. Originally CSX notified local officials in December 2012 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.

Delivery trucks such as those to Tops Supermarket and Rite Aid trucks 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. Especially worrisome is the effect this has had on fire and ambulance services, which are unable to respond promptly to emergencies when 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 to 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.

In his November 2012 letter to CSX, Schumer noted that bridges were causing unnecessary headaches and causing dangerous situations for the residents of Ogden and Spencerport, and that CSX must act to remove the bridges that they had committed to dealing with last year. Schumer further noted that the removals are supported by Monroe County which last November signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CSX, and formally relinquished any preferential right that a municipality could have in this situation to lease the right-of-way, thereby removing any possible impediment to CSX now rebidding the work. CSX expects the contractor to perform the removals once final permit approvals by Monroe County and New York State Transportation Departments are secured, likely as soon as this spring.

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