Fixing An Eyesore

Multi-Million Dollar Improvement Plan Launched For 25^th Street Viaduct Rail Bridge

by Cassie Hepler

Long-awaited repairs to South Philly’s aging, crumbling railroad viaduct are soon to begin.

CRUMBLING 25th Street Viaduct Rail Bridge as it looks today. The 1920s-era viaduct carries two railroad tracks 14 feet above S. 25th Street between Washington Avenue and W. Passyunk Avenue. It was designed to remove all street-level railroad tracks from S. Phila.

“Following extensive discussions and coordination between my office, the City of Philadelphia and CSX Transportation, I am pleased to announce CSX will make a multi-million dollar investment to improve the safety and aesthetics of the 25th Street Viaduct,” said 2^nd Dist. Councilman Kenyatta Johnson at a press conference last Wednesday.

CSX Transportation, owner of the 25th Street Viaduct in South Philadelphia, will initiate a multi-year improvement project to restore the condition and appearance of the 1.2-mile-long bridge, which connects the Port of Philadelphia and other Philadelphia freight customers to the national freight-rail network.

“CSX has been maintaining the viaduct routinely since it became part of our network infrastructure (CSX is the fourth owner). As recently as 2014, we conducted an extensive effort to proactively remove loose material from the surfaces of the bridge to prevent debris from falling to the streets below. Through that effort, in which contractors removed material from the entire underside of the 1.2-mile-long bridge, we determined that an additional, more extensive refurbishment was required, which is what we announced last week,” said Rob Doolittle, director of communications and media relations for CSX.

COUNCILMAN Kenyatta Johnson announces at press conference Wednesday that CSX Transportation, owner of 25th Street Viaduct in S. Phila., will begin a multi-year improvement project to restore the condition and appearance of 1.2 mile-long bridge, which connects the Port of Philadelphia and other Philadelphia freight customers to national freight-rail network.

The Viaduct Improvement Project consists of four phases, beginning in 2015. The work includes constructing a debris shield to protect pedestrians and vehicles that pass underneath the bridge; removing the parapet walls on either side of the bridge; restoring the drainage system and bridge decking to like-new condition; replacing the parapet walls with new, pre-cast concrete panels; and resurfacing the public-facing concrete columns and supporting structure. The entire project is expected to take up to five years to complete.

Residents have complained endlessly about the eyesore and CSX seems excited to get moving on this project.

“We can’t speak for residents, but I can say that many community leaders who attended the event expressed their appreciation for CSX’s commitment to undertake this improvement project,” said Doolittle.

Congressman Bob Brady (D-Phila.) said it was all Kenyatta’s doing.

“The Congressman was not aware of the delays. But he has pressed for infrastructure funding to repair our crumbling bridges,” said Brady’s Chief of Staff Stan White. “Councilman Johnson is to be commended for his hard work on this issue.”

With tons of red tape in place to actually get a move on the plan, residents were always concerned about the safety of the viaduct, which transports massive amounts of explosive crude oil and is a lifeline for the Philadelphia economy.

Engineers, however, insist the bridge’s problems do not create a risk of a catastrophic derailment and explosion, such as has happened with frack trains with alarming frequency elsewhere.

So how close to crumbling is the 25^th Street Viaduct?

“The viaduct is and always has been structurally sound,” said CSX’s Doolittle. “It was built to carry substantially heavier loads of freight (iron ore, steel) than it is currently carrying today. The bridge is inspected for structural soundness at least annually, and the tracks that the bridge carries are visually inspected several times weekly, with more extensive internal inspections of the rails using ultrasound technology several times annually. The work to be done through the improvement project announced yesterday is focused on restoring the exterior surfaces and having a new tank installation and drainage systems.”

PROJECTED artist’s rendition of the 25th Street Viaduct Improvement Project, starting June-December 2015.

Tons of oil rolls into Philadelphia along that viaduct, which may have helped prompt the renovations.

“CSX uses the 25th Street Viaduct to transport crude oil to customers in the port area of Philadelphia (the oil is pumped from shale, a type of rock formation, in North Dakota, but we don’t transport shale). Safety is CSX’s highest priority, and zero accidents is our goal. The 25th Street Viaduct is and always has been structurally sound,” CSX’s Doolittle stressed.

Anti-fracking activists have been all over the 25^th Street viaduct, noting chunks have fallen off for years, threatening cars and pedestrians below and creating traffic hazards. The viaduct’s disrepair is a tragedy waiting to strike, they say.

Most other endpoints for oil trains, including Albany, N.Y., and towns in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Pacific Northwest, have attempted to slow or stop the shipments because of environmental and safety concerns, Philadelphia’s struggling economy has welcomed the boom with a full red carpet.

“Our refineries are bringing thousands of well-paying jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity to Philadelphia and its suburbs,” said White.

“CSX is sensitive to the fact that some residents have concerns about some of the products we transport. Safety is CSX’s highest priority, and zero accidents is our goal, as evidenced by the extensive training our train crews receive; our investment of more than $1 billion annually in the maintenance of the bridges, tracks and signals that comprise our infrastructure; and our ongoing efforts to share information with first responders in the communities where we operate, to help ensure they prepared to protect the public in the event of a railroad incident involving crude oil. In addition, CSX has advocated for increased design standards for the tank cars that are used to transport oil and have collaborated with other railroads, regulators and legislators to identify ways to make the safe transport of energy products even safer,” said Doolittle.

Councilman Johnson has been pushing hard for the federal government, who has the ultimate say, to make such moves for years.

“We have a great deal of work to do to ensure the neighborhoods surrounding our rail systems are safe from the materials being transported through our city. I will continue to push the federal government to release new regulations that require safer train cars. I will also continue to pressure rail companies and their customers to maintain their infrastructure and upgrade their rail car inventory to models that prevent leakage or explosions in the event of a derailment,” Johnson said.

To help ensure area residents have the latest information about the project, CSX has created a website at www.CSX25thStreetVIP.com. Visitors to that site will find project information and can sign up for future project updates. CSX will publish additional information about the project as it becomes available, including details about any impact on traffic or street accessibility during the project.

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