Last week, railroad company Norfolk Southern finished rehabilitating the latest of several Binghamton railroad bridges found to be in “severe” need of repair.
In 2023, Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham announced the city planned to hire an independent engineering firm to assess the city’s railroad bridges, most of which are owned by Norfolk Southern. The firm’s report found a majority of the bridges were in “severe” or “poor” condition, with exposed rebar, crumbling concrete columns, and structural issues.
At a press conference Wednesday, Kraham said constituents and elected officials have been concerned about the condition of the city’s railroad bridges for years.
“For a long period of time, the sentiment was that the city couldn't do anything,” Kraham said. “We don't regulate the railroads. They're too big of an entity. This is too big of a problem. The city will never get railroads to come to the table. But we did just that, and we took some aggressive action.”
Crews wrapped up work last week on the railroad bridge underpass at Jarvis Street in the city’s First Ward neighborhood. The bridge was one of seven identified in the firm’s report as in severe need of repairs. Crews fixed concrete columns and exposed rebar and repainted the underpass.
Kraham said next year, the railroad company plans to replace a deteriorating bridge on Front Street and improve bridges on Murray and Water streets.
“For a $44,000 engineering report and some work by me at the bully pulpit, we're seeing millions of dollars being invested into Binghamton's infrastructure, at no cost to local taxpayers,” Kraham said.
Norfolk Southern recently paid $600 million in a settlement with the village of East Palestine, Ohio, after a destructive train derailment in February 2023. The derailment spilled hazardous chemicals and triggered a fire, forcing almost half of the town's residents to evacuate.
